My Life With Three Hokage
by bmidd111
Summary: Bethany Middleton was a normal girl living a normal life. Until the day three of the most powerful characters from her favorite Anime and Manga series appear in her house that is. Now she has to figure out how the three Hokage from Naruto got here and how to get them back, all while her life goes through huge changes. Can Bethany and her father survive?
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the anime and manga series Naruto, which belongs to Masashi Kishimoto or any real people or places in this book._

 **17 year old Bethany Middleton was at home alone one night, as her father was at his Girlfriends house. She was very board that night, and even getting on her computer wasn't enough to keep her mind from wandering. Bethany sighed as she sat back on the couch, wondering what she could do to pass the time. She sighed again, and then there was a flash of light so bright that she had to cover her eyes and close them, to keep the blinding light out.**

 **When it finally started to fade, Bethany heard voices: "seriously, Tobirama, what kind of jutsu was that, anyway?" The teenage girl blinked,** ** _'Tobirama? But, that's the name of-'_** **she was interrupted in her thoughts, when another voice spoke up, "oh, like** ** _you_** **could do it any better, Hashirama-" "Shodamine-sama, Nidamine-sama, what are you doing here?" another voice asked incredulously. There was a pause, and then, "who are you?" at this point, Bethany opened her eyes, and what she saw made her gasp in shock. The first two Hokage's of the Hidden Leaf Village, along with the Forth Hokage were all standing in her living room. When her brain finally connected to her body, she did the only thing she could think of. Bethany Middleton promptly fell to the ground with a bang, that drew all three of the Hokage's attention.**

 ** _Ś.Ņ.Ÿ_**

 **The Shodamine, Nidamine and Yondamine Hokage all sat on the floor around the young girl, who, after seeing them, promptly fainted and fell to the floor. They didn't know why she had fainted, but as soon as she woke up, they were sure she would tell them. They had already talked amongst themselves, and had found out the blond stranger in their midst, was in fact, the Fourth Hokage. The young girl suddenly groaned and sat up slowly, rubbing her head, "ow, I must have hit my head pretty hard if I fell unconscious" she sighed, then the Shodamine bent down towards her in concern, "are you alright, little one?" he asked.**

 **Bethany froze. The First Hokage was looking down at her in concern, an action mirrored by the other two Hokage as well. The young girl looked up at him, then asked slowly: "S-Shodamine-Sama?" looking over at the other two as she sat up, she gulped, "Nidamine-Sama, Yondamine-Sama? H-how are you all here?" The second Hokage looked down and crossed his arms, "I was trying out a new jutsu I had created, and Hashirama here had wanted to help me, that's probably how** ** _we_** **got here, but-" he looked up at Minato, "I really have no idea how you got here, Yondamine".**

 **Bethany looked over at the Fourth Hokage, who shrugged, "honestly, I have no idea, I was teleporting back to my home after a long days work, and then suddenly, I appeared here". Bethany blinked, "so, let me get this straight, you are all stuck in this world until you can get back?" The three village leaders looked at one another and shrugged, "I guess so". Bethany's face lit up, and stars appeared in her eyes, "awesome!" she exclaimed, as she threw her hands up in the air.**

 **The young girl grinned so brightly, that the three ninja in her house grinned back, "my name is Bethany Middleton, it's nice to meet you, Shodamine-Sama, Nidamine-Sama, Yondamine-Sama", she said enthusiastically, while bowing respectfully. The Shodamine smiled gently, "there's no need to be so formal, Bethany-Chan, you can call us by our names you know" Bethany blushed slightly, at being called Bethany-Chan by one of the most powerful Shinobi in history, and smiled back, "alright, Hashirama-Sama, Tobirama-Sama, Minato-Sama, I-" just then three growls interrupted the conversation. The three Hokage rubbed the back of their heads almost simultaneously, while mumbling, "Sorry".**

 **Bethany smiled slightly; she had a feeling that not many people saw these three like this. "Well, I guess I should see what we have that we can use for dinner" she stood up, and went around to the kitchen, but she called back, "oh, and you can sit on the couch if you want to, I don't mind" then the sound of the fridge being opened could be heard. The three Hokage stood up, and sat on the couch, while waiting for their host to make dinner. When Bethany came back in, she asked, "well, I don't have much at the moment, would you three mind having some noodles for dinner tonight?" They all nodded their consent, and the young girl went back into the kitchen.**

 **Minato looked around, but there was no one else in the house. Well, except for the animals. "Um, Bethany-Chan, where are your parents?" he asked. The young girl paused for a moment, "well, Daddy's over at the Coast, at his girlfriends house, and my Mummy- she died two years ago" she explained, pausing only slightly when she told them her mother had died. Minato seemed to empathise, his eyes gaining a sad look to them, "oh, I'm sorry" he replied, looking down. Even Hirashima and Tobirama seemed saddened. The young girl grinned, "it's okay, don't worry about it" she said while rubbing the back of her head, and trying to reassure her house guests that she was really okay.**

 **Bethany walked up to the Yondamine and Nidamine, "um, Minato-Sama?" she asked, as she began shifting from foot to foot. Minato looked up at her, "yes, Bethany-Chan?" he asked, wondering what she would want. The young girl became very red faced, "um, could you, w-well, what I mean is-" she began hesitantly, "if you don't mind, could you please teach me your Flying Thunder God jutsu?" she blurted out, since the situation was becoming uncomfortable. The other two Hokage looked dumbfounded, while Minato just scratched the back of his head, "well, I don't know, do you even have chakra?" he asked, looking down at their young host. Bethany looked thoughtful, "I-I'm not really sure" she said, looking down.**

 **Minato walked up to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "It's alright, we'll find out together, and even if you don't, I can still teach you how to fight" he said, with a gentle smile on his face. Bethany looked up, a happy smile on her face, "th-thank you very much, Minato-sama!" she said and bowed. Bethany then looked over at the Nidamine, "Tobirama-Sama, you're the other Hokage I admire, your water jutsu's are so powerful and cool!" she exclaimed, then looked over at the Shodamine, with a happy smile on her face "that's not to say you're not awesome and cool too, Hashirama-Sama! I mean, you're so powerful, you can create an entire forest with your jutsu in seconds!" She beamed at all of them, "you're all so cool!" Bethany exclaimed.**

 **The three Hokage laughed at her enthusiasm, living with a child like her would certainly keep things interesting.**

 ** _Ś.Ņ.Ÿ_**

 **After dinner, Tobirama offered to help her with the dishes. Bethany thought about it for a moment, and, after seeing that he really did want to help, conceded with a small, "thank you" and a smile. While washing the dishes, the young girl thought about what her family would say if they found out she was alone in the house with three grown men who were strangers. Or rather, three grown men who were Hokage. It was strange to think that these three incredibly powerful Shinobi were now living under the same roof as her, an ordinary young woman. After they had finished, Bethany thanked the Nidamine with a grateful smile.**

 **Looking over at the microwave, she found that it was 10:30, and time for bed. So she went and got the phone and her father's number. But before she called, she made sure to ask everyone to be quiet while she was on the phone, she didn't want her father finding out about this too soon. Once everyone had agreed, she dialled the number and waited while it rang. "Hello?" Paul Middleton's voice came out from the ear piece, but it was so loud that Bethany had to hold it a bit away from her ear. "Hey Daddy, it's Bethany, I'm going to bed now" she said, while the three Kage sat on the couch. "Okay, goodnight Bethany, I love you" he said. Bethany smiled, "I love you too, oh, by the way, when are you coming back?" she asked.**

 **"** **Tomorrow afternoon, why?" he asked. Bethany looked over at her three house guests, "I'll tell you tomorrow morning, okay?" she asked, more willing to deal with whatever happened in the morning. "Okay then Bethany, I'll see you later, bye" he said. "Bye, bye!" Bethany replied. When father had hung up the phone, Bethany did too, then looked over at the three village leaders, "well," she said, "I guess we better find somewhere for you guys to sleep, huh?" she asked.**

 ** _Ś.Ņ.Ÿ_**

 **Hashirama and Tobirama had her father's bedroom, as there were actually two beds in there, plus, they were brothers, they didn't mind sleeping in the same room together. Minato got the spare room, and Bethany apologized for it being so cramped for space, but the blond Hokage just smiled and said that it was fine. After letting them know that they could come and ask her anything, Bethany left for her own Bedroom. Now, what with everything that had happened that evening, the young girl didn't really feel like sleeping.**

 **So she tried to tire herself out by walking around her bedroom. Though that wasn't working much either, she had too much energy to just be knocked out by walking around. Sighing deeply, the young girl walked out into the living room, and there she found Minato, working on one of his sealing scrolls. Bethany's face rose into a small smile, and she walked up behind him, "hey" she said, casually. He turned to face her, "hey, Bethany-Chan, what are you doing up?" he asked as she sat down on the couch next to him, "hmm, couldn't sleep, too much energy", she sighed, then smiled a little, "sometimes I wonder if I'm related to the Uzumaki clan in some way, what with the fact that I normally can't get to sleep while I'm awake, but after I've gone to sleep, I never want to wake up".**

 **Minato smiled, "nah, I don't think you're Uzumaki material," he said with a smirk. Bethany glared back playfully, then they both just sat in a comfortable silence. The young girl looked up at the Yondamine, "so, what are you doing awake?" she asked curiously. Minato hmm'd, "well, I guess I can't really sleep either, so, I thought I'd work on some of my seals to pass the time" he explained, smiling and gesturing to the open scroll with part of a seal drawn on its surface. Bethany nodded, "Sealing sounds really cool as well, but, I've already imposed on you enough by asking you to teach me your Flying Thunder God jutsu, huh?" the girl asked, blushing slightly. Minato smiled gently, "well, if you like, I could teach you both," he said, looking back down at his scroll, "if you're willing to work for it, that is" he told her with a mischievous wink. Bethany's eyes lit up at this, practically sparkling with joy, "really, you mean it!?"she asked enthusiastically. When Minato nodded, Bethany threw herself into his arms, "Minato-Sama!" she exclaimed, happily, but quietly. She didn't want to wake up the other two Hokage sleeping in her house. When she pulled out of the hug that Minato had accepted with a small chuckle, Bethany looked around, then back at the Yondamine, "Hey, did you know you're going to have a son at some point?" she asked quietly. To her mild surprise, he nodded, "Kushina told me that she was pregnant yesterday, I'm so happy, I'm going to be a father!" he exclaimed quietly, grinning ear-to-ear.**

 **Bethany smiled and nodded, "well, do you want to see what he'll be like when he's Twelve years old?" she asked. When asked what she meant, Bethany went quickly and quietly to her bedroom, and grabbed her Naruto movie, "Ninja clash in the Land Of Snow" .When he saw the cover, Minato beamed at his Twelve year old son, and seemed pleased that his only surviving student was his sons sensei. After Bethany put the movie on, albeit quietly- the two, now Sensei and student sat watching it. Minato chuckled at his son's antics, he was so much like his lovely wife. But something struck him while watching the movie. Neither he nor Kushina appeared anywhere in it, and no one, not even Kakashi mentioned them at all. It was as if they didn't exist, or they were- Minato stopped laughing, and looked down at his new student. "Bethany-Chan, where are we?" he asked slowly.**

 **Bethany looked down. She had known that this was coming, known that he would ask her sooner or later, but she had hoped that she wouldn't have to deal with this, at least not until her Daddy came home, and they could explain it together. She took a deep breath, "I, well, you, and Kushina-San- are dead" Bethany let out a huge sigh of relief, glad to have that bit of bad news off her chest. When she dared to look up slowly, Minato was staring at the T.V screen with a blank expression in his eyes and on his face, "I see" he said slowly, almost in a monotone. When the movie finished, Minato stood up and walked back to the spare room, not even pausing to say goodnight to Bethany. The young girl gulped, "M-Minato-Sama?" she asked quietly. The Yondamine looked back over his shoulder and saw his young student watching him with worry in her eyes.**

 **Seeing her so upset by his sadness, Minato smiled softly, "I'm alright, Bethany-Chan, I just need some time to think about some things, that's all" he responded quietly. Bethany nodded, I mean, who wouldn't feel sad after finding out that you and the one you love died, leaving your only son all alone in the world. As she walked back to her own room, she heard Minato call back,: "good night, Bethany-Chan" Bethany smiled and walked back to her bedroom, she didn't feel like sleeping for what was left of the night, after all, it was likely that she would sleep for half the day if she did, and she couldn't leave her guests for so long without food. So, she decided to just read until morning, then go and start the animals when the sun rose.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hashirama Senju woke at the crack of dawn, as was normal for his Ninja-trained mind. His brother woke only a few minutes after, yawning and stretching deeply. Hashirama and Tobirama looked around, for a moment confused as to where they were. But after only a few minutes, the memories came flooding back to them. Bethany, they'd met the little girl the day before, when the two of them, along with the Yondamine Hokage, Minato Namikaze had gotten dragged out of their world and times, and into this one, by means of Tobirama's jutsu. So, the two Senju brothers stood up slowly, man that had been one long night.**

 **As they took turns going to the toilet, brushing their teeth and showering in the bedrooms unsuit bathroom, the two Hokage wondered how they were going to get home. After all, it had really only been a fluke from Tobirama's experimental jutsu that had brought them here, who knew** ** _how_** **they were going to get back. But, there was no use in worrying about it now, that wouldn't help them get home. After getting dressed, the two brothers left the bedroom and went out into the living room, where they found Bethany sitting on the couch already dressed, and eating two slices of toast with some kind of spread on it, and drinking a glass of milk. The two Hokage sweat-dropped, they always woke up at the crack of dawn, and yet this girl had beaten them? Upon hearing them enter, the young girl looked up and smiled, "good morning, Hashirama-Sama, Tobirama-Sama, I guess we can let Minato-Sama sleep in a little this morning, huh?" she asked cheerfully.**

 **The two brothers just stood there in silence, staring at the young girl who woke up so early it put even the Hokage's to shame. Finally, Hashirama spoke up, "B-Bethany-Chan? What are you doing up so early?" he asked, staring at her in shock. What she did and said next, almost caused the both of them to faint, "actually, I never went to sleep, I couldn't get to sleep, so as soon as the sun started to rise, I got up and did all my jobs, well, almost all of them, I couldn't have a shower yet because the only shower with a door is in the unsuit bathroom in Daddy's room," she said with a smile. Hashirama and Tobirama just stood there in silence, until: "what do you mean you never went to sleep?!" they both shouted at the same time. "Shhhhhh!" she tried in vain to quiet them down, as Minato walked wearily out of the spare room, yawning deeply and rubbing his eyes.**

 **"** **W-what's going on, what's with all the noise?" he asked. Hashirama looked disappointedly down at Bethany, "our host here, never went to sleep last night, and has been awake the whole time" he said. Bethany cringed at his tone, now she felt guilty for having disappointed him. While she was looking down though, she never saw the man look up at Minato and wink. Minato, now more awake, seemed disappointed with her as well, "what? Really Bethany, I know you had a hard time getting to sleep last night, but you could have at least** ** _tried_** **to get some sleep, how are you going to be a ninja, if you don't get enough rest?" he asked, winking back at the Shodamine. Bethany seemed to be genuinely sorry, "I'm sorry, I will try harder next time, I promise". Minato grinned: "you'd better, because here's a demonstration of what will happen if you don't" Before Bethany had a chance to ask him what he meant, the First Hokage had created a wood clone, and both of them rushed at Bethany and pinned her to the floor.**

 **"** **Wha- Hashirama-Sama, what's going on?" she asked as the two First Hokage's grinned sadistically at her, causing the 17 year old to gulp. Minato walked forward, a crazy smile on his face. Bethany shrunk back against the floor, and looked over pleadingly toward the Nidamine, her eyes seeming to say:** ** _"help"_** **Tobirama just smiled and sat on the couch, "sorry, Bethany, you're on your own" he said, in a laid back tone of voice. "Traitor!" she called, as Minato summoned a feather from one of his scrolls.**

 **Now Bethany was wearing a nighty without sleeves, and when Minato started to tickle her under her arms, she had to force herself not to laugh, even though she was most ticklish under the arms. Bethany gasped, desperately trying to hold back her laughter as tears began to roll down her face. After a few more minutes, the young girl couldn't take anymore, and burst out laughing, "n-no, sta-ha-ha-ha-hap!, ha, ha!" after a few more minuts of tickle torture, the two and a half (a wood clone is one half in this story) Hokage's released Bethany and stepped back, while their host struggled to regain her breath.**

 **"** **I'm, *pant* going to get you for that!" she glared playfully at the two Hokage, then looked over at the Nidamine, "and you, you will taste the wrath of my vengeance even more then these two!" she exclaimed in a mock serious/deep voice, while pointing in his direction dramatically. Tobirama just shrugged and closed his eyes while smiling. Bethany stood up and ran into her bedroom to get dressed. Looking at her clothes, she decided to freak Minato out a bit, part of her revenge on him.**

 ** _Ś.Ņ.Ÿ_**

 **When Minato looked up, he gasped. Standing in front of him was a mini version of himself, complete with his Hokage coat, and blond spiky hair. The figure looked up, "hello, Minato-Sama, what do you think of my cosplay outfit?" she asked in a mocking tone. The Yondamine Hokage stared, "B-Bethany, you're-?" Bethany grinned, "yep," she replied, spinning around so he could see the back, which was emblazoned with the red kanji for 'Forth Hokage'. Turning back around, the young girls grin widened, "I got this outfit from the last Supernova, an anime convention, I couldn't get the whole outfit, but, this is good enough for now".**

 **Hashirama and Tobirama also got up and examined the young girls outfit, she even had a Hidden Leaf Village headband, and a blond Minato wig. "Well, what do you think, Minato-Sama, like it?" Minato smiled, "well," he paused, placing his hands on his hips, and adopting a thoughtful expression. Then he grinned cheekily, "I think you look good, but unfortunately for you, nowhere near as cool as me!" Bethany pouted, "what! What do ya mean, not as cool as you?!" She asked in mock indignation and fury. The first two Hokage's sniggered, "well, I think you look very cool Bethany-Chan" The First Hokage said.**

 **Bethany smiled, "really, you really think I'm cool, Hashirama-Sama?!" she asked, turning to him with sparkly eyes, and clasping her hands together in front of her. When the Shodamine nodded, Bethany grinned, and turned on the T.V in the living room, so the three village leaders would have something to do for a while and sat on the couch, opening her computer and getting on it. The first two Hokage were amazed at the T.V and the computer, having never seen such things before. Minato, having watched a movie with Bethany the night before, and having some of these things in his time as well, wasn't fazed much by them.**

 **Suddenly, Bethany jumped, causing the three older men to look over at her, "what's wrong, Bethany-Chan?" Hashirama asked. Bethany put her computer down, and went to the home phone, which was on charge, with her Father's number, "I have to call Daddy, and tell him about you guys, otherwise he'll probably faint when he comes home" she said, dialing the number. After a few rings, the phone was picked up, "Hello?" it was Michelle, her Father's Girlfriend. "Hey, Michelle, it's Bethany here, can I to talk to Daddy?" she asked. Michelle called out: "Paul, Bethany wants to talk to you!" Bethany smiled slightly.**

 **About a minute later Bethany heard Paul Middleton's voice, "good morning, Bethany, have you done the animals and eaten yet?" he asked. Bethany smiled, "yep, but I actually wanted to talk to you about that thing from last night" she explained, getting a little worried, what if her Daddy didn't believe her? Well, she was really only telling him now so that he was prepared, if he didn't believe her, he'd just find out for himself when he got home. "Yeah, what about it?" he asked. The young teenage girl took a deep breath, it was now or never, "you'll never believe what happened last night!" she said in a serious voice.**

 **And so she told him all about how the three Hokage had appeared in their living room, and how they were going to have to stay here until they found a way home. Predictably, the other end of the phone had gotten deathly quiet. "And just so you know, this isn't a joke either, I don't play pranks and you know that," she said seriously. She heard Paul gulp, "you're serious?" he asked, sounding like he was about to faint. Bethany nodded, although she knew that he couldn't see her, "yes, I am, you'll see for sure when you get home, okay?" she asked. Paul sighed, "yeah, sure" he replied.**

 **Bethany hung up, and went back to the kitchen, "alright then, let's find something for your Breakfast" she grinned at the Hokage, who grinned back.**

 ** _Ś.Ņ.Ÿ_**

 **After breakfast, Hashirama sat down with Bethany, who'd changed back into regular clothes, "alright Bethany-Chan, now listen carefully, the first thing we're going to do is meditation," he said gently. Bethany nodded, and imitated the First's position, cross-legged on the floor with a slightly relaxed posture. Hashirama nodded, letting her know that he approved of her position. "Good, now close your eyes and relax your body," he told her. Following the instructions, the girl closed her eyes and relaxed, "breathe slowly and deeply, try to keep your breathes even if at all possible," Bethany did as asked, "clear your mind, do not let your attention drift, focus only on my voice". Blocking out all other sounds and feelings, the small teenager felt everything else flow away, everything but the gentle but powerful voice of the First Hokage.**

 **Watching quietly, Minato and Tobirama could tell that the girl was doing very well for her first try. Hashirama continued in the same quiet, calm voice, "focus on yourself, imagine your mind as a leaf, it's in the centre of that leaf that your chakra resides". Bethany could see the leaf clearly in her mind's eye. Mentally, she drew a spiral on its surface, "now, follow that leaf to its centre, and when you get there, take hold of your chakra, pull it out then release" in her mind, Bethany stood in the middle of the large leaf. Reaching down to grasp the swirling energy that was her chakra, Bethany gripped it tight, pulled at it with all her mental strength, then let it go once it was all free. The girl gasped as the warm energy rushed through her body, filling it completely to the brim. Despite only just awakening it, her chakra felt familiar and comforting, almost as though she'd had it her whole life. Bethany's eyes snapped open, to see a large flame-like something explode from her body. The thing was- it was green.**

 **Everyone present gasped as they saw they potent green chakra dissipate from the air. The girl blinked, "w-why was my chakra green? I thought chakra was supposed to be blue?" she asked, gasping slightly from exhaustion. The Shodamine scrutinised her carefully. Tobirama walked up behind Hashirama, looking from the girl who was now weakly pulling herself onto the couch with Minato's help, back to the brown-haired man before him, "Anija, that chakra, why was it the same as yours?" he asked calmly. Hashirama shook his head, turning to face his younger brother, "I don't know Tobirama, but one thing is for sure," he looked back to Bethany who was drinking a glass of water that the blond had gotten her, "that girl possesses nature chakra, and quite a lot of it too, she just might be the only one other than me who can use the Mokuton Bloodline".**

 **Bethany's eyes widened at hearing this, "really?!" she asked, elated, turning to face the brothers with unbridled excitement shining in her eyes. Hashirama sweat-dropped, "ah, you heard us?" he asked. Bethany nodded, "I've always had good hearing, do you really mean it, I might be able to use wood-style?" the Nidamine crossed his arms, while the Shodamine rubbed the back of his head nervously, "well, maybe- you're the only person I've met with the same type of chakra as me, so there is a strong possibility that you'd be able to use the same jutsu" he explained. Bethany grinned, and shot over to the Shodamine, "will you teach me?!" she begged, clasping her hands together in front of her chest in a pleading gesture. The brown haired man sweat-dropped again, "yeah, sure Bethany-Chan, if you want," Bethany nodded rapidly. Hashirama grinned, "alright then, you'd better get ready for a whole lot of work little one".**

 **Bethany just grinned challengingly, "bring it on, Hashirama-sensei!"**

 ** _Ś.Ņ.Ÿ_**

 **Walking out into the back garden after Bethany had gotten changed into more suitable clothing for training, Hashirama clasped his hands together: "Mokuton!" at the man's cry, a giant tree emerged from the ground, Tobirama quickly weaving a Genjutsu around it so that no one but them could see it. Bethany gazed, awe-struck at the magnificent tree that stood a little taller than her house, her mouth gaping open, it was- beautiful. Turning to her Sensei, her eyes shining with wonder, she cried: "amazing! You gotta teach me that!" Hashirama grinned, "be patient, all in due time little one", he replied calmly. Turning back to his creation, he pointed at the tree, "now Bethany-Chan, I want you to climb it without your hands" he said simply.**

 **Nodding, the girl closed her eyes, forming half of the ram seal as she did so. She could literally feel her Chakra flowing through her feet. Once she was certain that she had gathered a sufficient amount, she opened her eyes and went to run at the tree. Before she could, Hashirama placed a kunai in her hand. Grinning sheepishly at the man, she turned back to the tree once again, gripping the handle of the kunai, before running up the trunk as fast as she could go. She made it about a quarter of the way up, before her foot slipped and she was falling through space. Just managing to mark her spot, Bethany closed her eyes as she fell, before feeling someone grab her out of the air and land on the ground with her. Breathing hard, Bethany slowly opened her eyes to find that Minato-sensei was the one that had caught her. Smiling, she nodded at the man, "thank you Minato-Sensei!" she grinned. The blond nodded, smiling back as he placed her on the ground again.**

 **Wiping her forehead of the sweat that had gathered there, Bethany turned back to the tree. Once again gathering her chakra at her feet, Bethany made sure it was a little more than last time. Nodding to herself, Bethany ran up the trunk once again, this time making it just about halfway before the bark splintered beneath her feet and she was once again falling through space. This time Tobirama-Sama caught her and landed fluidly with her in his arms. Giving a nod of appreciation, Bethany turned to scrutinise her enemy. The tree stood as tall as before, and Bethany couldn't help but shrink a little. Walking up and placing a hand on the bark, Bethany sighed, before looking up its length again. She cocked her head to the side, and decided to meditate a little, to see if that would help any.**

 **Sitting cross legged on the ground, her back leaning against the bark, Bethany closed her eyes, holding her hands in the 'Rat' position. Breathing calmly and evenly just like before, Bethany felt the air around her shift, as though it itself were alive. Wind blew through the leaves of the tree, ruffling the girl's hair, but Bethany didn't even flinch. She was missing something. Tapping into her Chakra, Bethany felt it flowing within her, felt the Chakra's of the three men watching her, felt the Chakra of the tree, so similar to her own, and flowing in perfect harmony with Hashirama's- her eyes snapped open, that was it! That was what she had been missing. Standing up, she gently touched the bark with one hand, closing her eyes to better sense the energy flowing within the tree.**

 **She was right, the Nature Chakra was completely in tune with her Sensei's, flowing in balance with the First Hokage's. Her problem was that she had been seeing the tree as an enemy of sorts, one she had to defeat. She had to balance herself, and her energy with the tree, not fight it, and let her body do the rest. Bringing her hands into position, she once again gathered Chakra to her feet, but this time she let the warm green energy flow in perfect synchronisation with the tree. Dropping the kunai, she opened her eyes and stepped back, before shooting forward with an insane burst of speed. She ran right up the bark, not stopping once.** ** _'Higher, higher, keep it even'_** **Bethany ran up the entire length, coming to a halt only when she had reached the very top. Bursting through the canopy of leaves, Bethany fell on a branch covered thickly with leaves, simply sitting there and taking in the sight of her home city spread out before her. The Seventeen year old closed her eyes for a moment, before opening them and getting ready to run back down.**

 **But upon looking down, Bethany gasped, and screamed with fright. She was up so** ** _high,_** **how had she not noticed?! Back on the ground the three Hokage heard the scream, and frowned. "I'll go check on her" Hashirama decided, running up the bark. Upon reaching the top, he saw his newest student clinging to the branch she was on, pale with fright and with her eyes shut tight. The Shodamine frowned again, walking over to the girl, "Bethany-Chan, what's wrong?" he asked gently. Bethany shook her head, without opening her eyes, "I can't get down Sensei, it's too high, I-I'm scared" she whimpered, trembling and clinging to the branch with all her strength. Hashirama nodded in understanding, "come here Bethany-Chan, I'll get you down". But the brown-haired girl shook her head again, "I can't do it! Get me down from here, please get me down, I'm so scared" she begged. The Shodamine sighed slightly, "Bethany-Chan, I can't get you down until you release your death-grip on the tree".**

 **Bethany whimpered again, "I can't I'll fall, it's too high!" she shook desperately, tears beginning to trail down her cheeks. Hashirama frowned, "why didn't you tell us that you were so afraid of heights, I mightn't have made this tree so high if I'd known?" he asked, waking over to the girl. Bethany shook her head, "I didn't know, the highest I'd ever been was when I did rock-climbing at Warwick, even then I was scared, but I had a harness and stuff, and someone helping to pull me up when I needed it, I had no idea my fear of heights was this bad!" she choked on a sob. The First Hokage smiled gently, "come, take my hands, I swear, I will let no harm come to you" he said softly, but with strength permeating his words. Bethany cracked an eye open, the man was looking at her with a gentle smile on his face, holding out his hands for her to take. Drawing in a large shuddering breath, the girl decided to trust her Sensei, and took his hands tightly in her own.**

 **Standing on the trunk facing down, with only Hashirama Sensei to block her view of the ground far below, the girl clung desperately to the older man's hands, still shivering, "Bethany-Chan, don't worry about the ground, look at me, at my face, would I ever let you fall?" he asked in a strong but gentle voice. Bethany shook her head, "no- I-I trust you, Hashirama Sensei" she said, with just a slight waver to her voice. The dark-haired man nodded, "now, I'm going to take a step back, when I do, you take a step forward, we will do this one step at a time, okay?" he asked. Bethany nodded. Slowly, the First Hokage stepped backwards, and Bethany stepped forwards, then backwards, then forwards again.**

 **They continued in this pattern in silence, until the Shodamine spoke up again: "Bethany-Chan, do you have any brothers or sisters?" he asked. Bethany blinked, not expecting this. "Ah, no- well, they're not physically related to me at least, but I do have two people who I consider to be sisters" she said, thinking about Sam and Talya. "Talya was my best friend in Preschool, and we've been best friends since then," she spoke with pure love shining in her eyes, "both Talya and her older sister Samantha came to live with us for a year, oh, I think it was around 11 years ago now, back when we lived in one of our old houses, anyway, Talya and I were best friends, and both her and Sam became like sisters to me, Talya being my little sister, and Sam being my big sister, I was so upset when they left," she closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again, "I have seen them both briefly since then, but still-" She looked down at her feet, "It's not the same is it?" Hashirama asked, he felt he could understand this girl a little, "no, it's not" Bethany said sadly.**

 **She looked sadly at the First Hokage, "I'm sorry, I probably brought back bad memories for you-" before she could finish, the man interrupted her, "will you protect them? Even if it's hard, or dangerous, will you protect your sisters no matter what?" he asked solemnly. Bethany's expression turned fierce, and she nodded, her determination burning within her heart, "I will protect them, even if I die" she said, in a voice that allowed no room for uncertainty. Looking into her eyes, Hashirama could see nothing more than unyielding strength.** ** _'Impressive, not even part of Konoha, and she already posses a very strong will of fire'_** **Hashirama smiled and nodded, "good to hear, Bethany-Chan, you may very well become known as the next God of Shinobi if you stay on this path" Bethany beamed at him.**

 **Looking around, his grin widened, "we're at the bottom now" the young girl blinked and looked around also, they were standing at the base of the tree, not on the ground, but at the base none-the-less. The Shodamine took his student into his arms, and jumped to the ground with her. As soon as she was released, Bethany fell to the ground, shaking with relief, as she gripped the grass to prove to herself that she was on the ground once more. Minato Sensei and Tobirama-Sama came up to her, "are you alright?" the blond asked with worry. Bethany sighed as she felt the solid ground beneath her, and she looked up the other two Hokage with a smile, "yeah, I'm okay now, Sorry for all the trouble" she replied softly. They all waved off her apologies, and helped her back inside.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sitting in her bedroom, Bethany was in deep meditation, trying to find out just how deep her Chakra capacity went. If she was ever to perfect her Chakra control as was her wont, she first had to confirm the limits of her own power. Bethany smiled contentedly as she let the peaceful Mokuton Chakra wash over her. Delving deep into her psyche, the teenage girl felt calmer and more at peace than she ever had in her life. The Chakra was like life itself, flowing through her veins and lending her vitality and strength that she would never have otherwise. Suddenly feeling a familiar Chakra at her door, Bethany simply said: "enter". The door opened to reveal Hashirama, standing and staring at her. Slowly coming out of her meditation, Bethany opened her eyes and smiled at the First Hokage, "yes, is there something you need Sensei?" she asked smoothly.**

 **Hashirama rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "well, there's a new Chakra approaching, and we were wondering if you might recognise it?" he asked. Bethany nodded, and jumped up. Nature Chakra was a wondrous thing. She could literally feel the new strength her body possessed. She felt refreshed and alert. A quick glance at her bedroom mirror, told her that the bags around her eyes had also disappeared. Smiling happily, the girl walked out to her living room, sat on the couch, and focused her senses on the approaching chakra signature. Searching through what she could of the person's feelings, she immediately knew who was coming. Opening her eyes calmly, Bethany turned to face the three Hokage, "don't worry that's just my Daddy" she said, smiling softly. Minato nodded, and Hashirama smiled, "so, we finally get to meet your father, I'm looking forward to this" Bethany grinned.**

 **She supposed that she should be panicking about the fact that her Daddy was so close, and she still hadn't come up with a way of explaining the three Hokage in their house, but with her recent meditation, she felt nothing but peace. Everything would work out, she was sure of it. Paul Middleton came into the house half an hour later, "hey, Bethany!" he called. Bethany came out to meet her father, "good afternoon, Daddy!" she exclaimed happily. Paul examined his daughter after she'd pulled back from their hug. She seemed, different somehow, stronger, more awake and energetic. "Hey, Bethany, you look different, what happened?" he asked. The teenage girl grinned, "a lot of things, and I can prove every one of them" she said happily. Turning to the empty house, she called: "okay guys, you can come out now, but not too fast, I don't want to make Daddy faint".**

 **Suddenly, three blurs appeared in front of Paul Middleton, and when he recognized each of said blurs, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Standing in front of him were the Forth Hokage, the Second Hokage and the First Hokage. You know what they say-like father, like daughter. Upon seeing the three legendary figures in their living room, Paul Middleton promptly fell to the ground with a bang. Bethany held her head in her hand and sighed: "now, how did I know** ** _that_** **was going to happen?" she asked sarcastically. Reaching down, the girl effortlessly picked up her father and laid him on the couch. Then she looked around, "so, what do you guys want to do until he wakes up?" she asked calmly.**

 ** _Ś.Ņ.Ÿ_**

 **Paul Middleton slowly woke up.** ** _'What a weird dream'_** **he thought. Seriously, his imagination was getting a little too carried away with him if he'd dreamed that three of the Hokage were in his house. As he sat up, the bedroom door opened to reveal his daughter, carrying a tray of food, "oh, good, I knew you were awake" she said with a smile. Paul sighed, "Bethany, what happened?" he asked groggily. Bethany scratched the back of her head, "well, you came home and fainted when you saw the three Hokage, you know you should really believe the things I say more often Daddy" she said with an almost inaudible sigh. Paul laughed: "that's a good one Bethany, I almost believed you were serious for a second-" he was cut off when the First Hokage poked his head out from behind the door, "have you explained it to him yet, Bethany-Chan?" he asked curiously. Paul stared in amazement at the legendary figure standing before him. Hashirama Senju entered the room rubbing the back of his head, "by the look on his face and the way his emotions and Chakra are behaving, I take it you told him and he didn't believe you?" the man asked, turning to look at his daughter with a sweat-drop adorning his head.**

 **Bethany pinched the bridge of her nose, "no, he didn't believe me, and you were supposed to wait until I flared my chakra before you came in Sensei" she replied with just a hint of agitation in her voice. Paul stopped gawking at the Shodamine Hokage, and looked at his daughter with a raised eyebrow. Since when had she been this calm and mature? He had been ready to start yelling, demanding answers. But upon seeing how calm Bethany was, he decided to try her approach, and asked in a subdued voice: "how?" Bethany smiled; it looked like her father was learning. "It would seem that due to an altercation that occurred when Tobirama-Sama was testing his Flying Thunder God jutsu, both himself, and his older brother appeared here in this world yesterday evening. I would think the same thing happened with Minato Sensei, as he is also here" Paul stared at his daughter. Since when could she talk so- eloquently?**

 **"Since then, we have discovered that I possess Chakra, and you also hold a similar energy. Upon meditation to find and bring out my latent Chakra, we discovered that the type of Chakra I hold, is almost identical to Hashirama Sensei, therefore bringing the possibility that I could use Mokuton to the forefront, as such, Sensei has been training me today and I have mastered the tree climbing exercise, although I may continue doing it to finetune my control" Bethany finished her explanation, watching her father with careful scrutiny. Paul gasped, "you- we have chakra? Really?" he asked. In response, Bethany went over to the wall, and-after forming a hand sign- walked up it with ease. Paul nodded, "I guess that answers that question, and you said you have-?" "Mokuton, Wood style" Bethany said quietly. "Wow," Paul breathed, "I can't believe it, not only do we both have Chakra, you have the same bloodline as the First Hokage, which I don't actually understand by the way?"**

 **Bethany sat down next to her father, "basically, my Chakra is elemental energy or Nature Chakra if you prefer, my body just naturally mixes the two Chakra forms together to form my Mokuton Chakra, in this case earth and water are the two main elements I use. I don't know if it's possible for me to use other chakra natures, but I know that I might be able to use earth and water separately" Paul nodded, "Okay, so, what do I have then?" he asked curiously. Bethany closed her eyes and focused her senses on her father. Suddenly her eyes snapped open, "you have fire, wind and lightning Daddy, three very powerful elements on their own, but possibly something even greater if combined" she told him, "upon combination of those three elements, it could create a keketotta that could even surpass the Mokuton" she said with awe. Paul looked elated, "really?" Bethany nodded, "I'm not entirely sure, but the possibilities are their".**

 **She looked at him seriously, "Daddy, do you want to learn how to control the power you hold?" she asked, the tone in her voice completely serious. Paul nodded, he had never been so sure about anything in his life. In the blink of an eye, Bethany's seriousness vanished, "great, then we can learn together!" she said with a happy smile. Paul face-faulted. Seriously? She was like one of those dolls whose faces you could switch by spinning it's head around. Hashirama smiled: "if that's the case, then I'll teach him the same meditation technique I taught you, Bethany-Chan" Bethany nodded at him, "ah, good idea Sensei" She stood up, "now, while you two are doing that, I might go work on my chakra control some more, okay?" she asked with a cheerful smile on her face.**

 **When Hashirama nodded his accent, Bethany walked out of the room to see her two other house guests sitting on the couch. Minato smiled, "so, how'd it go?" he asked cheerfully. Bethany grinned, "well, I told him, he didn't believe me, Hashirama Sensei came in and that convinced him pretty quickly, now Sensei is teaching Daddy the meditation exercise that he taught me and while they're doing that, I thought I'd work on my chakra control a bit more" she explained. Tobirama nodded, but then stood up, "you've pretty much mastered the tree climbing exercise, it's time for you to move on to the next step" he said seriously, leading her out to the back yard. Bethany blinked, really? She thought that her tree climbing could still use some more work.**

 **Upon telling this to the man, he shook his head, "if it weren't for your fear of heights, you would have gone up and down that tree easily, now it's time for you to learn water walking to refine your control" Bethany was apprehensive, but nodded anyway, trusting the Nidamine to know what he was talking about. Just then the Shodamine came out into the yard, followed by Bethany's father, who gawked at the tree that now adorned his back yard, "need some help, brother?" he asked. At Tobirama's nod, Hashirama formed several hand signs, "Doton: giant basin jutsu!" he called after slamming his hands on the ground in front of him. The earth trembled under their feet, before literally falling away to leave a massive hole in the ground. The Nidamine then formed several hand signs of his own, "Suiton: Raging waves!" a giant blast of water erupted from the Second Hokage's mouth, filling the newly created lake to the brim.**

 **Bethany gawked at the sheer amount of power the two brother's had, Paul not too far behind. It was amazing to watch the two Hokage at work, simply amazing. After the basin was full, Tobirama turned to face her, "now, do you know what you have to do?" he asked. Bethany nodded; this would defiantly be harder than the tree climbing. Focusing a bit more chakra to her feet than before, the young woman took a deep breath, before stepping out onto the water's surface. She took a single step first, and when her foot sunk beneath the waves slightly, Bethany focused a little more Chakra. Finding her foothold to be solid this time, the brown-haired girl tentatively brought her other foot forward.** ** _'Remember,'_** **she thought,** ** _'adjust the amount of Chakra you send to each foot to compensate for weight distribution,'_** **Bethany breathed deeply as she carefully placed her other foot gently on the water's surface. As she painstakingly made her way across the lake, Bethany assured herself that once she had completed this exercise, she would start working on fighting on top of the water.**

 **The four people watching her each had their own opinions on her progress. Paul was amazed, and slightly envious at the ease with which she moulded her Chakra. Tobirama was lightly impressed with how quickly she seemed to be able to pick up on controlling her Chakra. Minato was awed by just how much of a child prodigy she seemed to be. And Hashirama was proud of his student's progress. Only the first day of training and the girl had already unlocked her Chakra, mastered the tree climbing exercise and appeared well on her way to mastering water walking as well. Just as she was three quarters of the way across, she lost concentration and fell in. Coming back to the surface, Bethany glared at the water. Swimming back to her starting point, the teenage girl climbed onto the bank,** ** _'this might take a while'_** **she thought with a sigh. Starting again, Bethany slowly and carefully walked across the water, shutting out all distractions from her mind. This time she made it further than halfway before loosing concentration.**

 **Swimming to the opposite side which was the closest, the teenage girl swore that she would make it all the way this time. Stepping onto the water's surface once more, Bethany finally made it to the other side, collapsing in exhaustion once she was on solid ground again. Tobirama grunted, "you did it, well done" he said in his usual monotone voice. Panting, and dripping wet, Bethany looked up, a satisfied smile on her face, "thank you, Sensei" she said, before fainting due to Chakra exhaustion.**

 ** _Ś.Ņ.Ÿ_**

 **A few days later, after Bethany had recovered, she and the three Hokage went to the beach for a break. Upon reaching the sand, the young woman shot forward with a cry of pure ecstasy. Feeling the wind blowing through her hair, Bethany closed her eyes. Opening them as she entered the trees, the young woman grinned as she dodged and weaved through the forest. Hearing a sound beside her, Bethany looked to see Hashirama, Minato and Tobirama running beside her.**

 **Smiling wider, the young woman burst out of the canopy of leaves, right in front of a cliff. "Hm," Bethany ran forward, and right up the cliff face. Upon reaching the top, the girl jumped up to land on the top of the cliff, followed shortly by the three Hokage, "I'm first!"she exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air, as she gasped for breath. Minato walked up to her, "well done" he said with a smile. The young adult grinned happily at him, then turned to look out at the view.**

 **The wind blew through her hair as she looked out over the forest. It was so beautiful, so peaceful. If only the rest of the world could be like this. After all, who said that she and Paul were the only ones with Chakra? There could be others out there, people who were scared to show their abilities for fear of being used as weapons.** ** _'One day'_** **she thought. Suddenly an explosion sounded nearby. Bethany gasped, and spun around. A second explosion was then heard, this time, Bethany could pick up many Chakra signatures flaring wildly, most were fire, but there were some earth style users, a few water style users and a couple of wind style users from what she could tell.**

 **The young woman's eyes scanned the trees, her ears alert for any sound, and her sensory range expanded to its maximum. When a third explosion went off, along with several dull booms, Bethany shot off in the direction of the sounds, the three Hokage right behind her. Running through the trees as fast as she could, the scene that met the young woman's eyes when she finally emerged from the forest made her gasp with horror. Bodies were everywhere; children were running around, clad in different types of armour, wielding many different kinds of weapons. Some threw homemade bombs, gunpowder wrapped in paper-Mache with rope wicks hanging out of them. Upon lighting the makeshift explosives, the children would throw them, and the wind style users would propel the bombs faster towards the enemy, where they would explode, taking out whole squads of men armed to the teeth with weapons. Upon noticing them, one boy, seemingly around 14 years old, ran up to them, "what are you doing just standing there? Move you idiots!" he exclaimed.**

 **Bethany was about to ask something, when another explosion went off close to the small group of five. The girl covered her face with her arm, trying to shield her eyes from the dust and debris. Another boy, this one slightly younger than the first, ran up to them, "Akito-Taicho, the enemy is advancing too rapidly, if we don't retreat now, we'll be utterly wiped out!" he exclaimed. The boy, now known as Akito turned to the other children, "everyone, fall back and regroup, if the enemy catches us, we're done for!" he called. Immediately, the others abandoned their positions, and jumped through the trees. "Move, move, come on, let's go!" Akito called, then he turned back to the Hokage and Bethany, "you can stay here if you want, but if you're caught, you'll probably be killed, so I would follow as quickly as possible if I were you" he told them, before leaping to the tree-tops like the others. After sharing a quick glace with Hashirama, Tobirama and Minato, the group of four followed quickly.**

 ** _Ś.Ņ.Ÿ_**

 **Once they'd reached what Bethany dubbed, "Home Base" which was really just a big cave, Akito checked the numbers, "42, not bad, we didn't lose nearly as many as last time, unfortunately, I doubt we'll be able to retrieve the bodies this time either," he sighed, "at least the majority of us are alive" the black-haired boy took a deep breath, and turned to face his 'guests'. "Okay, I want your names, abilities, and what you're doing here" he said sternly. Bethany gawked, "what? You dragged us here after giving us absolutely no information, and now you expect** ** _us_** **to be the ones to talk? No, not until you've told us what's going on, and just what the** ** _hell_** **that was all about" she said, just a bit hysterical. Akito sighed and crossed his arms, "alright, fine, I'll tell you".**

 **The boy closed his eyes, "it started about 11 months ago, groups of children began awakening their Chakra, for most of us, it was the ones who watched the anime, "Naruto" who were able to do so, though for others it just happened. At first things seemed fine, and we didn't see any problems with showing off our abilities, they were just cool powers, what could be wrong with that?" Akito shuddered, "we were wrong- there was a lot wrong with letting people know that we had these abilities, and the reason soon became clear," the black-haired boy opened his eyes, "the government found out about us soon enough, and came to our houses- they wanted to use us as weapons, and tried to persuade our families that the best option for our futures was to let us go with them," he grimaced.**

 **Bethany and the others were listening with rapt attention, wondering what had happened. The boy took a deep shuddering breath, "of course, most of our families bluntly refused- seeing the offer for what it really was, a bid to try and get the children with, "unusual and unknown power" under the governments control as weapons, tools to be used and killed as the government saw fit, and helped us escape, most of the time at the cost of their own lives," Akito became sad, "we did escape though, and managed to find each other, hiding here in the hopes that we'd be safe- it wasn't any use though, they found us, and decided that if they couldn't control us, then they would destroy us, to keep us from using our abilities against them- so we fought, and we've been fighting ever since". The boy shuddered slightly, "it was either us or them, fight or die- we've lost so many in this war, so many children, and as the leader, I've had to bare each one of their deaths-".**

 **Akito clenched his fists, "when this war started, I had three brother's- one of the last things my mother said to me as we were escaping was to protect them, protect my family, those bastards killed them all, and I couldn't do a damn thing!" he exclaimed, eyes clouded with pain, "I won't-" he said shakily, "no, I refuse to allow my brother's and friends deaths to be in vain, that's why the only thing we can do is keep fighting, because if we give up now, all of this- everything, will all have been for nothing". He looked up at them, and the three Hokage recognised the look in the boy's eyes. Weariness, guilt and a fierce determination to not give up. "Will you answer my question and tell me what abilities you have now?" he asked. Bethany shrugged- why not? "I have only recently started training, but I know I have the Mokuton bloodline, and also a strong sensory ability" she said. Akito nodded, and looked at the other three, "we are not originally from this world, being from the 'Naruto' anime you spoke of before, I am the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, I also have Mokuton and sensory abililities, also, I can use my two elements separately, but I am more proficient with the earth half of my Chakra, than water".**

 **Akito looked shocked for a moment, before nodding, and turning to the Second. "Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, younger brother of Hashirama Senju, master of water style and sensing Chakra and invented the Flying thunder god jutsu" he said simply. Minato spoke up then, "Minato Namikaze, Forth Hokage, Sealing master, and also proficient in the Flying thunder god jutsu, I also invented the Rasengan". Akito nodded again, "good, we could use a sealing master, and your other abilities would be useful assets for us" he said to himself. Bethany's eyes widened, "wait, hold on, what makes you think we are going to fight? This war has nothing to do with us!" Bethany exclaimed angrily.**

 **Akito became enraged at this, and punched the girl in the face faster than she could react- hard. Everyone gasped, and Hashirama hurried over to his student, who sat up and held her cheek in her hand, "don't you ever say anything like that again, this war has everything to do with you if you have Chakra!" he yelled, glaring with enough rage to make the Kyuubi wet himself. Bethany was too shocked to speak, so she just listened, "nothing to do with you? Who the hell do you think you are to say something like that? I have lost my entire family- countless children have fought and died out there on the battlefield, died for our freedom- some no older than four years of age, and you say it has nothing to do with you?!" he demanded, "How dare you, how** ** _dare_** **you!" Akito seethed, "if you ever say anything like that again- if you** ** _ever_** **disrespect the sacrifices of those who gave their lives in this war, I'll kill you myself!" he yelled.**

 **Suddenly an earthquake rocked the area. "Akito-Taicho! The enemy is attacking us!" a blond-haired girl cried with worry. The boy whirled on her, "what! Here? This has never happened before!" he exclaimed, then turned to the other's, "everyone prepare for battle, they won't defeat us!" he exclaimed. "Right!" all the children cried at once, rushing off to prepare. Turning to Bethany and the Hokage, Akito frowned; "if you aren't going to fight, then stay out of the way!" he called, running off, while shouting orders to the others. Bethany scowled, then went to search for a place to hide. The door to the room was smashed open, and armed men burst in, weapons drawn. "Go!" Akito yelled. Both sides charged each other, weapons clashing with each other as the children fought against the adults. Bethany watched it all with barely concealed disgust.**

 **A scream rang throughout the room, and another child fell. Bethany shook her head, she'd had enough, "okay, that's it!" she exclaimed, running out of their hiding place. She still hadn't really learned how to use her Wood style yet, but this was a good a time as any for a test run. Bethany clasped her hands together, and to everyone's shock, wood sprung up out of the ground instantly, shooting forwards and impaling several of their enemies, causing the others to run off: "retreat!" one man, seemingly the leader called. Once they were gone, the children relaxed. Akito looked around, "is everyone okay, were there any casualties?" he asked. While he dealt with roll-call, Bethany was staring at the bodies that her wood had impaled- that she had killed. Hashirama went over to his student, "Bethany-Chan, are you okay?" he asked softly. Akito looked over at the girl. She was staring at the growing pool of blood with wide eyes. Her face was pale, and when she saw her reflection in the red liquid, she began hyperventilating.**

 **"** **Bethany!" Hashirama exclaimed, grabbing the girl and holding her in his arms. Tears streamed down her face as it twisted with agony and self-disgust. Without another thought, she buried her face in her teacher's clothes and began screaming and sobbing hysterically. Akito came over, "first kill?" he asked, over Bethany's wailing. The three Hokage nodded solemnly, and the boy frowned, "I'm sorry, but this would have had to have been done eventually, they would have come for her soon enough". "Uh, huh, uh, uhha!" Bethany was now making strained noises while shaking uncontrollably. She shut her eyes, but the images of her actions continued to assault her mind. Hashirama continued to stroke her hair and hold her while she cried, whispering soothing words in her ear. It pained him deeply to watch his student's suffering, and knowing that there was little he could do to sooth the girl's guilt-wracked heart made him feel even worse. These people- it was like they were repeating his own past in the war between the Senju and the Uchiha all over again, only this time, it was Bethany who was suffering.**

 **Akito looked around, then sighed, "our sleeping quarters are over there," he pointed to a hole in the wall, "take her to bed and take care of her, we'll handle things out here" he told them, then walked off slowly. Minato came up to the sobbing child who was still being held in the First Hokage's arms. Bethany had by now stopped screaming, but was still shaking uncontrollably, and moaning softly while tears poured down her face. He sighed, "It's going to be hard for her, especially considering she never wanted to fight in the first place," he said softly. The other two nodded, before Hashirama took her into the bedroom. After removing the girl's shoes, he lay Bethany down on the bed-roll, covering her with the blanket, then settling down next to her.**

 **There was an uncomfortable silence for a few moments, before hazel eyes opened and looked up at the man sitting next to her. Hashirama frowned at seeing the amount of grief and guilt reflected in those pained orbs, and he felt deep sorrow for failing to protect his student from what he himself had gone through as a child. "Hashirama Sensei?" the voice was soft, quiet and quivering with shame. The Shodai felt an immense pain in his heart at the sound of it, but pushed it away. Right now, the girl needed a solid support to lean on, and he would be damned if he failed her again. The man smiled gently and leaned down closer, "yes, Bethany-Chan? What do you need?" he asked softly. Bethany searched her teacher's face, looking for the disappointment that she was sure was there, but could see none. She turned her face away from his, "you're ashamed of me, aren't you?" she asked quietly. Hashirama shook his head, "no, I'm not, you did what you had to do and protected people, so I'm not ashamed or disappointed or mad". He smiled softly at her.**

 **Bethany looked up at the ceiling, "Sensei?", "yes?" he asked softly. Bethany took a deep breath, "you've- killed people, right?" she asked hesitantly, bitting her lip as she paused. The brown-haired man sighed deeply, "yes, I have, I've taken many lives in my time as a Shinobi, and I've lost many comrades as well," there was a pause before- "how?" Bethany took a shaky breath as her teacher looked back down at her, "how do you make it stop, the guilt, the pain, how can I make it stop?" she asked, tears sparkling in her eyes. Bethany gasped as the tears rolled down her face, "how do you make it stop, p-please, tell me- I'm begging you!" the poor girl broke down into sobs once again, too overcome with guilt to look her teacher in the eye. Hashirama reached down and began stroking the girls hair gently, "I'm sorry, Bethany-Chan, I'm afraid I don't know, but what I do know is, you killed those people to protect these children, didn't you?" he asked.**

 **Bethany sniffed, more tears rolling down her cheeks, "y-yeah," "there is no excuse for killing others, Bethany-Chan, but at least you protected people in the process, right?" he asked softly. Bethany nodded, "mm-hm, I did" she almost whispered. Hashirama nodded, "that's what you have to focus on, alright?" Bethany nodded again, then her eyes drooped, "I'm tired Sensei, will you stay with me until I fall asleep?" she asked in the same soft, quivering voice from before. The Shodamine nodded, "of course". Bethany struggled to keep her eyes open for just a little longer, as Hashirama wiped the tears from her face, "shh, sleep now," he said softly. Bethany sighed, and closed her eyes. Soon the exhaustion of the day caught up to her, and Bethany fell into a deep and dreamless sleep, something that she was extremely grateful for. Once he heard his student's breathing slow and her body relax, the Shodamine Hokage closed his eyes and sat back against the wall.**

 **Hearing a whisper come into the room, Hashirama looked up at the new person. Worried blue eyes met his own from under a mess of blond hair. Smiling grimly, the man gestured for his companion to join him where he sat next to Bethany's sleeping form. The man turned to him after sitting, "how is she?" the figure asked, furrowing his eyebrows in concern. The God of Shinobi sighed wearily, before looking up at the ceiling, "it's not good, Bethany-Chan is overcome by guilt, and plagued by feeling's of inadequacy after realising her actions- she also seems to be convinced that I'm now ashamed of her, and it's going to be extremely hard for her to overcome this, I only wish I'd been able to protect her from going through the same experiences that I did as a child" he replied, bowing his head sadly.**

 **The blond took a deep breath, "don't worry, Bethany-Chan's strong, she'll eventually get over this, we just have to be there for her". Hashirama smiled, "if you had the chance you'd be a good father- Minato" he said softly. The Yondamine Hokage chuckled sadly, before turning to once again look at the girl who'd touched all of their lives irreversibly, "so would you, Hashirama". With that, the two village leaders sat in silence for most of the night, before heading off to bed at around 1:30 in the morning. Soon after that, Bethany opened her eyes and sat up. "There's no way I can get back to sleep now" she whispered, before getting out of bed and- being as silent as possible- left the room.**

 **After sneaking out of the Hideout, Bethany sighed as she breathed in the cool night air. Looking around, she decided to go for a walk to clear her head. Upon making it to the cliff that she had stood at the other day, the brown-haired girl sat down and stared out over the forest quietly. Unknown to her, she had a few observers. Tobirama had been woken by the sound of her moving around, and had alerted his brother. After silently following the girl and meeting Minato along the way, the three Hokage had decided to see what their student was up too. Bethany turned her head slightly, "I know you're there, come out" she called, slightly annoyed at being followed. The older men tensed slightly, but relaxed when a boy, around the same age as her slowly walked out into the open. He smiled, "sorry about following you like that, but I heard you get up and wanted to know if you were okay" he explained.**

 **Bethany narrowed her eyes slightly as she took in the boy's face and form. He had black spiky hair, with a slight blue tint to it that reached his chin in length, pale skin and black eyes. He wore a dark blue long-sleeved yukata-style shirt and white pants. On his feet were a pair of black sandals. He stared at her, "well?" Bethany turned away, "I'm fine," she said in a monotone, looking back out at the forests. The boy frowned, "are you sure? Because you don't seem fine to me" he said, smirking slightly as he finished speaking. Bethany closed her eyes and breathed deeply, before opening them and staring at the scenery before her, "before, when I killed those people, that was the first time I had ever done something like that," she began slowly. "I-I had never even thought about harming another person in such a manner before, but seeing just how cruel and merciless I could be- it shocked me to the core," Bethany wrapped her arms around herself as she shivered- something that had nothing to do with the temperature of the air.**

 **The girl gulped, "I-I never wanted this, I never wanted to hurt, let alone kill anyone, but I had no other choice- even so, even so, it still haunts me, playing in my mind over and over again, like a horror movie on repeat- and I can't do anything to make it stop!" Bethany choked on a sob as tears began to trail down her face, "I know, I know you probably think I'm being weak but-" she was cut off as the boy whispered, "it haunts me too,". Bethany, having heard the almost inaudible words, turned to look up at her companion. The boy was staring out over the forests with a blank expression on his face, but Bethany was able to see the small signs of guilt that he hid from her. He sighed and looked up at the sky, his black eyes holding a thousand words. "I didn't used to be a killer, I was just an ordinary kid, taking care of my four younger brothers. When they came to take me away, my father- well, he basically abandoned me to fend for myself, while he took my brothers and ran. They tried to capture me, but as they did, I awakened a certain power in my eyes and killed them all," the boy turned to her and opened his eyes.**

 **Bethany was shocked, staring back at her were two nearly matured Sharingan eyes, two tomoe in each eye slowly spinning around the pupil. The girl didn't know what to say, while the boy simply smiled sadly. Sighing as he deactivated his eyes, the boy sat down beside her and turned to look forward again, "if only- if only there was a place in this world where we could truly belong, somewhere we could all be safe, weather we posses Chakra or not," he sighed again, "if there was, I could protect my brothers there, and we wouldn't have to worry about having to fight, kill and die in a war like this one- but there's not, and there never will be" he said sadly. Bethany was silent, thinking, "well," she said softly, "if there isn't a place for us in the world, why don't we just make our own" the boy turned to her, shocked, "what I mean is- we can create our own home, our own place to belong, a village, where people like us can live without worry of being used as weapons- can live as they like and can choose whether to fight or not, and they won't be looked down upon should they choose not to" she explained.**

 **The boy scoffed, "that's stupid, you can't possibly do something like that" he said simply. Bethany hung her head, with a cloud of depression hanging over her, "do you really think my dream is that worthless?" she asked, upset. "No matter how strong you are, one person can't build something like that all on their own," he paused, "that's why I'm going to help you" he said softly. The brown-haired girl's head snapped up instantly, staring at the black-haired boy with wide eyes, shock written all over her face, "that dream of yours doesn't sound bad at all, and if it does become a reality, I could protect my brothers their and we'd finally be safe," he turned to look at her, "so, I'll help you fulfil your dream, I won't stop until we create that village together, because now your dream is my dream too," he said and stood up with a grin, as he held out his hand for her to grab. Bethany smiled softly, as she accepted his hand and he helped her up, "may I know the name of the person I will be creating a village with?" he asked, as his grin widened.**

 **"** **My name's Bethany Middleton, it's nice to meet you" she said happily. The boy's smile softened, "it's nice to meet you too, my name is Madara Uchiha- do you mind if I call you Bethany-Chan?" he asked. Bethany blushed fiercely, "sure, Madara-San" she said. Madara grinned again, "there's no need to be so formal you know," Bethany looked away, "o-okay, Madara-Kun" she replied softly. The sun rose as the two new friends held each other's hands and smiled at each other.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Once they had gotten back to the hideout, Akito looked at them with a scowl, "where were you two?" he demanded. Bethany smiled sheepishly, "sorry, I couldn't sleep and went for a walk to clear my head, and Madara-Kun followed me," she bowed her head, "Gomenasai". The boy looked at the two, before sighing, "it's fine, just let someone know where you're going next time, or leave a note, it's dangerous to be wondering around alone out here" he said. Bethany and Madara nodded. Just then Hashirama, Tobirama and Minato walked up, "hey Bethany-Chan, are you feeling any better today?" the Shodai asked worriedly. Bethany smiled softly, before turning to face them, "yeah, I'm fine, I don't know if I'll ever be the same again, but at least I'm not as upset about it as I was" she explained.**

 **Akito nodded, "alright then, if you're feeling better go get some breakfast rations and then come find me, we have a lot to do today," he told her, then walked off. After everyone had finished eating, the group of four went up to the black-haired boy. "Alright, Bethany, I want you on weapons inventory, you three can do whatever you want". Hashirama, Tobirama and Minato decided to go with their student and followed her to the weapons storage room. When they got to the room, Akito unlocked the door and opened it. Bethany blinked, "um- there's, not much here" she commented, as she looked around. There were about 30 kunai, 12 shuriken, 13 suites of traditional armour- like those that were worn on Naruto and 6 swords. Akito shrugged, "we've lost a lot" now, it was easy to think that those words were as simple as they sounded. But the young woman knew that they weren't.**

 **She deflated and her eyes grew sad, "oh" was all she said in reply. The boy sighed, then turned to her. He handed her a clipboard, "here- write a list of everything in this room and the number of each that are here, it shouldn't take too long, so once you are finished, come find me and I'll check your work" he explained, walking out of the room and closing the door behind him. The young woman looked around the room and sighed, "well," she said sadly, "I'd better get to work".**

 ** _Ś.Ņ.Ÿ_**

 **"** **Okay- so that's 30 kunai knives accounted for, 12 shuriken, 13 suits of armour and 6 swords" Bethany muttered, writing each item down on the piece of paper and the amount they had. Looking around, the girl turned to the door, "finished, I'd better go tell Taicho" she muttered. Minato walked up, "would you like me to go instead?" he asked. Bethany nodded with a smile, "okay, thank you Minato Sensei" the blond nodded, and walked out of the room. The smile faded from the girl's face, "why did this have to happen?" she asked quietly, sitting down on top of a wooden box. She closed her eyes, gripping the wood with her hands. "Well, that was pretty fast" Bethany's eyes snapped open at the sound of Akito's voice.**

 **She turned to face him, "ah, I thought I'd better do it quickly" she replied with a grin. Akito nodded, holding out his hand. The young woman complied, handing over the clipboard, to allow him to look it over. The black-haired boy nodded as he read the sheet, "good job-" he paused to look up at her, "well done" Bethany blushed at the praise, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "Alright, well, that's it for today, we're having lunch now, so follow me" Akito led the girl and her three teachers back through the tunnels and into the main room were the lunch rations were being handed out. They were really nothing more than a cup of water and some nuts- maybe a few berries. Breakfast hadn't been much better- Bethany remembered that it had been some dry crackers and a cup of water again.**

 **She frowned, "you guys don't have much food either" she said, lining up with the other children. Akito shook his head, "well it's not like we can go search or hunt for food properly, and anything we try to grow would just be destroyed or lead our enemies right to us" he explained. Bethany, who had been thinking, perked up at the word 'grow' "that's it!" she exclaimed, taking her lunch from the person handing them out. The black-haired boy frowned, "what's it?" he asked. The girl walked back over to him, "I think I have a solution to the food problem!" she exclaimed happily, walking away, "I'll explain after lunch!" she called back.**

 ** _Ś.Ņ.Ÿ_**

 **Bethany stood in front of an empty patch of earth that had been freed of rock by Tobirama. She clapped her hands together; forming three hand seals at a slow pace- she had only just learnt this jutsu after all. "Mokuton:** **Fruit Baring Trees jutsu!" many trees grew out of the earth almost immediately. Once they were fully grown, large red and green apples grew from the branches, until the trees were so heavy with them that the branches sagged. The girl grinned, "I did it!" she exclaimed happily. Hashirama placed his hand on her head, "well done, Bethany" he praised. Akito stared at the trees and the fruit growing from them, while Madara, who had caught sight of them in the hall and followed the group, walked up to one of the trees and plucked one of the red fruits from it. Upon taking a bite the boy smiled, "mmm, these are delicious Bethany-Chan!" he exclaimed after he'd swallowed his mouthful of apple. The girl blushed, and Akito crossed his arms, "well, it looks like we'll be having apples for a while- thank you" he said, before walking away again.**

 ** _Ś.Ņ.Ÿ_**

 **Later that day, Tobirama decided that it was time for Bethany to learn to use her sword. He stood in front of her, with a sword of his own. Not as good quality as he would have liked, but fine for training. "Alright, it's time for you to learn Kenjutsu, Ninjutsu is fine, but you don't want to use it too often, even my brother can get low on Chakra" he explained. Bethany nodded, drawing her sword and trying to find a position that she was comfortable with holding it. She ended up with her legs spread apart to the front and back and her knees bent. She put her left hand forwards, like when she was doing karate and her right hand bent at the elbow, but instead of a fist, she was gripping the sword which was pointed straight forward.**

 **Tobirama nodded, and suddenly shot forwards. The teenage girl brought her sword up to block, but the man was suddenly gone. Bethany gasped, as she sensed his presence behind her and she whirled around, barley able to keep her teacher from taking her sword arm off with a diagonal downwards block. The weapons clashed in a spray of sparks,** ** _'faster, faster-'_** **the girl spun and swiped the sword away from her teacher, jumping back and landing on the ball of her right foot, before shooting forward in her beginning stance and managing to scrape along the white-haired man's blue armour. She gasped in shock,** ** _'did I really just-'_** **suddenly she felt the cold touch of metal on her neck and whirled around instantly, missing Tobirama as he vanished again, "you're fairly good, though you need more training, if you were in a real battle right now, your enemy would have just taken your head off" he said in a monotone from where he was leaning against the wall on her left side.**

 **Bethany nodded, "thank you, and I'll do my best" she said determinedly.**


	5. Chapter 5

**It had now been four months since Bethany and the three Hokage had joined the war. The teenage Shinobi had come far with her training. She had mastered the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, excelled with her Wood Style Jutsu and improved her Kenjutsu. She now stood before Hashirama, ready for her next training session. The Shodamine stared at her solemnly, "are you ready to start your Tai-jutsu training Bethany-Chan?" he asked. The girl nodded, "Hai, Hashirama-Sensei" Hashirama smiled, "good, now I'm going to be teaching you my Tai-jutsu style, and I think it would be easier for you if we spared first, as you're more of a hands on type of learner, aren't you?" he asked.**

 **Bethany nodded again. "Alright, my fighting style is called the forest fist, and is built off of the twisting forms and strength of wood. As such it's suited to a person with good flexibility and strength, so if those are your strong points, then this would be the perfect fighting style for you" he explained. "I understand" Bethany said. Hashirama smiled, "good, now, follow me" he crouched low, made tight fists with his hands but kept his arms in a loose position with his left fist closer to his chest and his right further out. The young woman copied him, determination lighting her eyes. There was a heartbeat of silence and stillness, before both fighters dashed towards each other. To her surprise, Bethany found that she was able to keep up with the man, but she focused on the spar. As the two wood users clashed, their movements became faster, swifter. Bethany made sure to keep her eyes on her teacher.**

 **As strong as Tobirama was, she knew that Hashirama was stronger, so- she guessed, he must also be faster, even if he didn't base his fighting style on it. As their speed and the force of their attacks increased with every moment, Minato stared in amazement, "incredible, I can barely see them- they're so fast!" he breathed. Tobirama knew that his brother was far faster and stronger than this, but he held himself back so that he didn't hurt Bethany too much. Though the fact that she was able to keep up with Hashirama in a fight at all was amazing. In fact he was sure that the only reason that she was doing so well was because they shared the same bloodline.**

 **As they shot apart, Bethany skidded back, panting heavily, "oh- my god! That was- *huff* the most intense few minutes of my life!" she gasped. Hashirama smiled and stood up straight, "well done Bethany-Chan, that was impressive- the only person I've known to be able to keep up with me at that level was my worlds Madara" he said, pride etched onto his face. The young woman grinned happily, "really?!" she asked excitedly. The Shodaimine nodded, causing the girl to rub the back of her head sheepishly, "heh, Arigato Sensei" Suddenly, Akito came running in, "the enemy is coming after us again, get ready!" he said, quickly running off again to prepare.**

 **Bethany sighed deeply, "well, there goes our break- looks like it's back to fighting" she walked over to her bed , put on her armour, and placed her sword on her hip. Minato furrowed his eyebrows, "are you sure you're okay to fight again Bethany?" he asked worriedly. The young woman closed her eyes, "I don't really have a choice, do I? don't worry, I'll be fine". She smiled, though all three of them could tell that she didn't mean it. Bethany and her three teachers followed the others towards the battlefield.**

 ** _Ś.Ņ.Ÿ_**

 **The battle was long and bloody. Bethany was- thankfully enough, able to use what she had learned effectively. She spun and slashed with her sword, used wood style jutsu's and even Tai-jutsu to take out her opponents. The three Hokage watched her as they fought, "well, she seems to be doing well" Tobirama commented, as he avoided another strike to his abdomen and kicked the man away with ease. The other two nodded, while methodically ploughing through their own opponents. A scream drew their attention, and they looked over to see a small silver-haired boy cowering on the ground before his much larger opponent, who looked ready to bring his weapon to bare and end the child's struggles once and for all. Hashirama was ready to intervene, but suddenly there was a glint of steel, a flash of brown and red and suddenly Bethany was standing behind the man with her sword lodged in his stomach.**

 **The boy gasped as his would-be killer slumped over to the ground. Bethany stared at the child, "are you alright?" she asked him, a hard look on her face that none of her Sensei's had ever seen before. The boy gulped and nodded, taking the hand that Bethany offered to him and standing up shakily. The girl nodded, picking up the Tanto that he had dropped and handing it back to him, "watch your back, and be cautious when fighting, as you never know what your enemy will try to pull- understand?" she asked. The silver-head nodded, rushing off to continue fighting. Bethany stood staring after him for a moment, before whirling around to block a blade that was about to be shoved into her back.**

 _ŚŅŸ_

 **After the battle was over, the group of child warriors stood in a circle around their leader. Akito looked them over and nodded, "well done, we didn't lose any this time, and the enemy retreated again- alright, search through the battle field for any good weapons then return to base!" he commanded, walking off- probably to oversee the others, or help with the weapons gathering himself. Minato, Hashirama and Tobirama walked up to Bethany, who was sitting on a branch, grown by either her or Hashirama and leaning on her sword which was stuck into the ground, for support. Minato frowned, "are you alright?" he asked worriedly. Bethany was panting heavily, her eyes were closed and she was covered in blood. Hashirama walked up to her then, "Bethany-Chan, do you-" but she cut him off by raising her hand, "I'm fine guys, I just need a shower" she replied softly. The Shodamine frowned as well, but left it, seeing as she was handling this battle far better than she did the first one. The young woman pushed herself up using her sword, cleaning the blood off it with a flick of her wrist. After that she slowly slid it back into its sheath at her side. Looking up, Bethany noticed that everyone had left already. "They've left, let's go" she said in a monotone, jumping away as well, with her teachers following.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Once she'd gotten back to the hideout, Bethany removed her bloodstained clothes and stepped into one of the showers. Scrubbing out her long hair and washing off her body of the remains of the battle, the young woman quickly finished her shower, and dried off. Suddenly a knock at the door was heard. Bethany immediately recognised the Chakra signature, wrapping the towel around herself and walking up to the door. Upon opening it, she saw Hashirama standing there, holding a clean set of clothes: a white long-sleeved top and black pants. He smiled slightly at her, "I thought you might like some clean clothes to wear," he explained. The young woman nodded, took the clothes and closed the door again. A minute later, Bethany walked out, fully dressed. She gave him a small smile of thanks, "arigato, Sensei" she said softly. The Shodamine furrowed his eyebrows, "Bethany-Chan- are you sure you're alright? You can talk to me, I promise you that," he said. The brown-haired girl turned away, "I'm going for a walk- you can come if you like," she said quietly, walking away. Hashirama followed after her as she left the caves, walking through the forest silently. He quickly realised that she was going to the cliff where she and this worlds Madara had pledged to create their own village together.**

 **When she'd reached it, Bethany stopped, staring out at the forests below her, Hashirama standing a little way behind the girl to give her a bit of space. Bethany took a deep breath and closed her eyes, tuning her face up towards the sky. There was a moment of silence, in which the only sound was the soft breathing of the two Shinobi. Bethany opened her eyes and finally spoke, "Sensei, do you think we'll ever achieve our dream?" she asked softly. Hashirama frowned slightly, understanding where his student was going with this now, "I believe that you won't if you give up on it" he replied softly. The girl sighed, "sometimes I wonder if true peace, even in part, can ever be achieved- all this fighting, it just goes on and on, permeating the cycle of hatred- it's all just making things worse" she almost whispered. The Shodamine stayed silent, knowing full well what Bethany was saying. The girl looked down, "these children- they were innocent, and if the governments of this world weren't afraid of us they would still be innocent, living with their families, happy and either living normal lives, or using their abilities to protect their precious people," she clenched her fists, turning to face her teacher with a determined look in her eyes, "I will protect these children- and I will achieve my dream, no matter what I have to do!" she exclaimed. Hashirama nodded, a gentle smile on his face, "I know you will, Bethany-Chan- and I will do whatever I can to help you do it". The young woman smiled, "arigato, Hashirama-Sensei".**


	6. Chapter 6

**The next day, saw Bethany and her three teachers quietly eating breakfast together. "Well- this is nice, right?" Minato asked cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood. Bethany just stared down at her grains, apple and water, while absentmindedly stirring the grains around with her finger. The other two were just as quiet, Tobirama lost in thought, while Hashirama kept shooting glances at Bethany every once in a while. The blond Hokage sighed- well, so much for idle conversation. Just then Akito walked in, "ah, there you are- I'm glad I found you Bethany" he said, walking over to them.**

 **The girl in question looked up curiously, "what is it, Akito-Taicho?" she asked as he stopped in front of their table. "I have to go out today- I'm taking three of our people and going to find information on our enemy's forces" he explained. Bethany frowned, "why only three? It would be better to take a small platoon in case of ambush, wouldn't it?" she asked. Akito shook his head, "if I take any more than that, it would weaken our forces here, and leave us open for attack- besides, the whole point of this is to gather information, so we don't have as much of a threat in the enemy, I won't drag everyone into danger like that" he replied sternly. The teenage girl nodded, "alright then, what do you want me to do?" she asked.**

 **Akito smiled slightly, "I want you to stay here and take care of everyone- in other words, I'm making you my second in command" he told her. The young woman's eyes widened and she gaped, "me? But- Taicho, I-" she stuttered. The black-haired boy shook his head, "no, don't doubt yourself- there is no one else I'd trust more to protect the others than you" Bethany looked down, "I- will do my best to keep everyone safe, Akito-Taicho" she said with a short bow of her head. Akito nodded, "I'm grateful to you- alright, I should get going" he said, turning away to leave. Bethany had a sudden thought, "ah, wait a minute!" she called. The boy stopped and turned back to face her, "what is it?" he asked. "I'm going to mark you with my Flying Thunder God seal just in case anything happens" she replied, to which the boy nodded, "that sounds reasonable" he held out his arm. The young woman placed her hand on it and the Sealing formula appeared there.**

 **"** **Thank you, and don't worry- I'll be back soon" he smiled and walked away.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **It had been few hours since Akito had left and Bethany was worried. Hashirama, Tobirama and Minato, along with Madara sat watching her as she paced around the room. "Calm down, worrying won't do any good" Tobirama told her, agitated. Bethany sighed, "don't you think I know that! But I** ** _can't_** **stop worrying damn it, I just have this bad feeling that something is going to go horribly wrong today" she moaned. Madara tilted his head, "well maybe it's wrong- just because you have a bad feeling, that doesn't mean that something bad is going to happen". Bethany gave him a knowing look, "Madara, you obviously don't understand, I've only had this kind of feeling two times in my life, one of them was about a story that I was reading and the other was when my Mummy died, and they were both right, so I'm inclined to believe this one right now" she explained.**

 **Hashirama looked at her, "so then what-" he started, but a short burst of chakra interrupted him. The young woman gasped, "that was the seal I marked Akito Taicho with- they're in trouble!" she exclaimed. Bethany dashed off to her bedroom, "wait, Bethany!" Madara called after her, but she was already gone. A moment later, the girl came back, dressed in her armour with her sword on her hip. She vanished a second later in a flash of brown and red. Madara sighed, before turning to the three Hokage, "well, are you going to follow her?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. Hashirama shook his head, "we can't always follow Bethany everywhere, she needs to be independent, just as much as she needs our support" he replied.**

 **Madara sighed, "I guess, but still-" Tobirama crossed his arms over his chest, "while there is more that we can teach her, there are some things that Bethany needs to do by herself- we aren't here to Babysit her, and she has gotten stronger in the last four months, she can handle herself" he stated. The boy looked down, then sighed again, "alright, but I hope she'll be okay alone" he replied worriedly.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Bethany appeared on a desolated battlefield and looked around. Something was defiantly wrong here. Where was Akito? "Taicho?" she called, a slight waver in her voice that she failed miserably in hiding. A rustling sound caught her attention, and she whirled around to see a man with a sword standing behind her. He had a predatory grin on his face. "Well, well, well- what do we have here? I could have all kinds of** ** _fun_** **with you, girlie" he said, chuckling darkly. Bethany glared murderously at him, and prepared for battle "come try it asshole- I'll gladly welcome you if it's death you're after!" she cried, with a generous helping of killing intent added into her words. The man lunged at her, but the girl swiftly dodged. She kept dodging and weaving, as her opponent was becoming more and more enraged.**

 **"** **Stand still bitch!" he yelled. Bethany smirked, "well if you insist" with that she stopped right where she was. With a yell, her opponent threw himself forwards, aiming to kill. But the young woman was ready. She quickly formed three hand signs, "Mokuton: great forest emergence!" she exclaimed, as giant branches emerged from the ground and shot towards the man. He didn't even have time to scream, and was killed instantly as he was impaled by the wood. Bethany sighed as she lowered her hands. Using her sensing abilities, Bethany searched for Akito's chakra. When she'd found it, she gasped. His chakra was so weak. Following the signature back to where it was strongest, the girl became horrified when she'd found him. He was seriously injured, his leg looked to be broken and he had multiple stab wounds and cuts, from which he was bleeding profusely. "Akito Taicho!" she exclaimed, rushing up to the boy.**

 **Akito opened his eyes at the sound of her voice and barely managed to raise his head to look at her as she knelt down next to him, "B-Bethany," he said hoarsely, before coughing up blood. The girl frowned, "Taicho" she said in despair. He raised his head, wheezing painfully, "Bethany, I- know I'm d-dying," he paused to cough again, "ple-ease, p-promise me-" he panted, groaning in pain, "promise me, that you'll protect everyone for me," he gasped, gripping her wrist weakly. Bethany had a pained expression on her face, but she nodded anyway, bowing her head, "I promise- I will do whatever I can to protect them, no matter what happens" she said. The black-haired boy smiled weakly, "thank- y-you- you know, you really might be, the one to bring peace- and I think, th-that dream, of yours *gasp* might be, able to, come true a-after all, thank, you- f-for being my f-friend, and caring, a-about the others *wheeze* as much as I did *pant* you, r-really are, a good person" he whispered.**

 **The boy closed his eyes and stopped breathing then. Bethany closed her eyes in respect for the fallen warier. "Akito Taicho, I swear, I will keep my promise- I will protect everyone until the day I die, thank you- for everything" a single tear fell down her cheek,** ** _'you really were a good leader'_** **she thought. She picked up the boy's body and formed a hand sign. Then, both the girl, and Akito's body vanished.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Upon arriving back at the hideout, Bethany was met with much hysteria and despairing cries, once the child warriors realised that their caring and strong leader was dead. Bethany stood off to the side with her teachers, her head down with a pained and sad look on her face and in her eyes. Hashirama watched his student sadly. She hadn't said a word about what had happened between her and Akito before the boy had died. Nor had she spoken to anyone since getting back. She just stared forwards with sadness. But, Hashirama could also see the look of grim determination she held in her eyes behind the despair. Suddenly one boy, whose name was Yue turned to the girl, and pointed an accusing finger at her.**

 **"** **You were with him, weren't you?! Why didn't you try harder to save him!" he exclaimed. Bethany blinked slowly, her face becoming blank, "try harder?" she asked, with no emotion in her voice. "That's right! You just let Akito die didn't you! I bet you didn't even bother to try and save him!" Yue cried, sobs breaking into his words. The girl closed her eyes, "I think you're misunderstanding the situation- He was already dying, Akito himself told me that his wounds were fatal and that there was no point in me trying to save him- if it hadn't been for the fact that I also knew that trying to keep him alive was useless, I would have done everything I could to save him- but there was nothing I could do, absolutely nothing!" she started calmly but yelled the last part, shocking all of them.**

 **As everyone was still quiet, she continued, "I promised Akito as he was dying from his wounds that I would protect you with all my strength- I swore to him! Akito named me your leader with his last breath, and I swore I would keep you all safe no matter what!" she cried, tearing up, "so you can curse me, shun me and blame me for his death all you want, but I will protect all of you, even if you hate me my whole life!" she exclaimed. Bethany decided to keep the last part of what Akito had said a secret- at least until she told Hashirama. Everyone was shocked silent, and the girl looked down, attempting to hold in the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes. She clenched and unclenched her fists, struggling with her emotions. The other children looked at her, before one young girl, around five years old raised her hand, "I believe her" she said quietly. Bethany's head snapped up and she stared at the girl, "if Akito-Taicho trusted you that much, then I'm sure there was really nothing else you could do- and if he made you our new leader, then-" she walked up to the brown-haired girl, who had by now calmed down, "I will follow you, Bethany-Taicho" she said with a small smile.**

 **Bethany's face slowly broke out into a wide grin. Several other children looked at each other and nodded, walking up to stand with Bethany as well. Madara smiled, and stood next to her, taking her hand into his own and giving it a reassuring squeeze. By now, most of the children were standing in a group around the young woman and she smiled gratefully, "thank you- all of you for believing in me, I will do my best not to let you down if I can help it, but please- don't forget to have faith in yourselves as well" she said. Everyone grinned. Those who still stood with Yue were glaring at the larger group with disdain. Then he turned and stomped off, his group following him. Bethany watched them go with worry. She hoped they would be okay.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **After burying Akito, Bethany formed the hand signs and grew a large Sakura tree over the grave. The young woman bowed her head in respect, as did everyone there, including the three Hokage and Madara. After a moment, everyone else left. Madara put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly, before he too left quietly. Then only Bethany and Hashirama were left before Akito's grave, both just standing quietly. The girl took a deep breath, "I will keep my promise to you Akito, I swear on my life, I will protect them all- no matter what I will find a way to keep them safe-" she paused to sigh, "until the day that Madara's and my dream comes true" she said with conviction. Bethany bowed one last time, before turning and walking away, her teacher following after bowing to the boy's grave himself.**


	7. Chapter 7

**The next day, Bethany was sitting with Minato, while the Senju brothers helped the children with organizing and counting supplies. "Alright, it's time for me to start teaching you Fuuinjutsu, (Sealing jutsu) Bethany-Chan" he explained, placing a blank practice scroll, a brush and pot of ink in front of her. The girl nodded, "hai, Sensei" she said, determined. Minato picked up a brush and took out a scroll of his own, "now, Sealing is something that takes a lot of time and practice, not like jutsu which can be learned relatively easily once you have the hand signs mastered" he explained. "It's also a very delicate and complicated practice, so don't worry if you make some mistakes at first" he said.**

 **"** **Hai, I understand, and I know it may take some time, but I'm still determined to succeed" Bethany said with conviction. Minato smiled, "heh, you know, you really are something, Bethany" he said. The young woman grinned at him and began her lesson. Surprisingly, it wasn't long before she mastered basic storage seals. "Wow, I'm impressed, it took even me a few weeks to master the basics, but you've mastered them in just a few hours- I think we may have a budding seal master on our hands" the blond praised. Bethany blushed, scratching the back of her head sheepishly, "well, I do have a good teacher" she said. After about an hour, they moved on to more advanced seals, as basic storage seals were about the only ones she'd need for the time being.**

 **Bethany read all the information carefully and dutifully took notes. When she began to practice drawing the intermediate level seals, Bethany found that it was harder for her than the basics, as she was having trouble with the characters and began to get frustrated. After the 20** **th** **attempt, Bethany threw her brush down, and sighed, "damn it all, I don't get it!" she scowled, before turning to Minato, "Sensei, would you excuse me for a moment?" she asked, before getting up and walking over to a wall. The blond watched her curiously for a moment, but when she sat in the Lotus position and closed her eyes, the Yondamine understood. She was meditating to try and calm down.** ** _'I have to do this,'_** **she thought,** ** _'I have to become stronger so I can keep my promise- I have to become stronger so I can achieve my dream and protect everyone,'_** **Bethany opened her eyes, determination showing on her face, "I** ** _will_** **become stronger so I can achieve my dream and protect everyone, no matter how hard I have to work for it" she said, standing up and going back to the table.**

 **"** **Let's go" she said, picking up the brush and getting back to work.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **It was a rare day in the Chakra user's hideout. What made it rare was the fact that it was one of the few days that the children could rest and not have to worry about training, jobs, fighting or attacks and could just be themselves. Relax, play and just be like normal children. Bethany and the three Hokage watched as smiling children ran around, laughing and playing games and with toys. The girl felt a soft smile come to her face as she saw them, sighing as she thought about how soon this would have to end and the war would continue.**

 ** _'_** ** _No,'_** **she thought fiercely,** ** _'don't think about that, focus on the current peace'_** **she frowned,** ** _'well, semi-peace'_** **Tobirama turned to his student, "you should think of a plan of action for when the fighting resumes" he said. Bethany's frown deepened, "I know, but we don't get a day off very often, I just want to relax today along with everyone else" she said, closing her eyes and facing the ceiling. The Nidamine scowled, "you should be more serious about this, Bethany- if you don't have a plan it could turn out badly for all of us" he said, crossing his arms. This time it was Bethany's turn to scowl, "don't you think I know that!" she said, a fierce intensity in her words that she didn't care to hide, "I may not have been involved in war as much as you three, but I sure as hell know how serious my responsibilities are now, and I also know that I'm going to have to work hard if I want keep everyone safe, let alone create our place of peace- our place to belong," she too crossed her arms over her chest, "but we** ** _are_** **children, and as much as our innocence has been shredded, we still deserve to at least** ** _act_** **like it hasn't and pretend like nothing's wrong every once in a while- because these rare days we have where we can act like we're still the innocent and normal children we once were is probably the only thing keeping a lot of us** ** _sane_** **in this war- especially the younger ones, alright Sensei?" she asked, glaring slightly, and flaring her Chakra a little to emphasize that the conversation was** ** _over_** **.**

 **Tobirama closed his eyes and turned away, refusing to say another word. Suddenly, a young girl came up to them, she was around seven years old and had slightly lavender hair, tied into two plats, along with white eyes "Bethany-Taicho, um- ah, well, that is-" she stammered, pointing her two index fingers together in a manner that reminded Bethany of Hinata Hyuuga. Come to think of it, her eyes looked like Hyuuga eyes. The young woman thought about it. There were people who had gotten the Sharingan in their world, as was the case with Madara, while she herself possessed the Mokuton Bloodline. It could be that this girl did have the Byakugan as well. Turing her attention back to the shy white-eyed girl, the wood-style user smiled softly, "yes, what do you need, is there something wrong?" she asked gently.**

 **The girl shook head, "no, I-," she sighed, "I-ah, I don't want to fight anymore," the girl shuddered and stared at the ground, "I can't- I'm sorry I just-" she stared at the older girl with a scared look on her face, "my mother gave her life so that I could be free, free of the possibility that I would become a weapon- and now she's dead," the girl broke into sobs, "dead just like everyone else- and there's no point to any of this, we fight, we die, we kill, and all for- what?" her body began to shake, "I can't do it anymore, I can't!" it was at that point that the girls legs gave way and she collapsed onto the ground in a sobbing mess. Or at least she would have if Bethany hadn't caught her quickly in her arms. Turning around to one of the wooden benches that were littered here and their around the hideout, the young woman sat with the girl in her arms, her small hands clinging tightly onto her shirt.** ** _'Her body's so small,'_** **she thought in sadness,** ** _'she's so young- she shouldn't have to worry about this, she should be playing and being the innocent child that she deserves to be- we all should!'_** **Bethany thought, despair filling her as she thought of all the children that had been lost to this war, all the children who had been buried so far- some of them by her.**

 **She then thought of Akito and his determination to keep everyone safe. That had been one thing that she'd admired about him, she thought. Even though they hadn't always gotten along, he was just doing his best to protect all the children who were under his care. Even if they didn't want to fight, Akito knew that they had to or risk death by the enemy. It was sad to think that, but he was only being objective for the group as a whole, and though she hadn't been a leader for very long unlike Akito- she could already see how his way of thinking worked. The boy hadn't had time to worry about every singular person's feelings when he had so many to protect and look after. Bethany smiled softly, "may I ask your name, little one?" she said gently. The girl wiped her eyes, "M-Makoto, Makoto Hikari" she sniffed. The older girl held her gently yet firmly, "Makoto-Chan, I understand how you feel, really I do," she started, "I never wanted to fight and kill in the beginning either, and in fact I still don't," she paused a moment, to let the girl absorb that information.**

 **Makoto looked up at her, "really? But everyone talks about how fierce you are in battle- they say you never show an ounce of fear!?" the girl- no, the child said in confusion. Bethany smiled sadly, "you don't have to be afraid to hate fighting, and the only reason I seem so fearless is because of my determination" she replied. Makoto frowned, "determination?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. The brown-haired girl nodded, "my determination comes from my desire to bring an end to this worthless war, and to keep all of you safe- to do that I am willing to do whatever I have to, even if it means I have to fight and kill others," she said. Makoto's eyes widened slightly, "you're willing to go through all that- just to protect us?" she asked in amazement. When her Taicho nodded, the girl couldn't help the question that burned on her tongue, "why?" what she got in answer almost broke her heart, Bethany smiled a small sad smile: "so that no one else has to suffer like you and I, so that we can all finally be free of this nightmare called war- to create true peace, even if it's only for people like us".**

 **In that moment, Bethany was a hero in Makoto's eyes. To be able to give up her own peace for their sake, and not** ** _just_** **for the sake of her promise to Akito-Taicho, but because she truly wished for there to be a time when everyone, whether they had chakra or not could understand each other and live together in harmony, was something that she admired more than anything, "Bethany-Taicho?" she asked softly. The brown-haired girl looked at her questioningly, "yes, Makoto-Chan?" she asked in reply. The child's eyes were no longer plagued by sadness or hesitancy, "I swear this now, no matter what happens, I will help you in any way that I can to achieve your dream- even if I die in the process, at least no others will have to suffer at the hands of war like we have- just like you said" she replied, with just as much determination and will in her eyes and heart as Bethany herself. The older girl blinked, then smiled in appreciation, "arigato, Makoto" she said happily, showing the girl that she saw her as an equal for her help.**

 **Makoto grinned, "anytime, Bethany-Taicho- you know, I knew Akito-Taicho pretty well, and though he always insisted on me fighting with everyone else, he always genuinely cared about me too, making sure I trained well and keeping an eye on me on the battlefield," she explained, her grin shrinking until it was a soft smile, "you may not be exactly like Akito was, but I could always tell that you cared about all of us just like he did, you also want to protect us- but it's something more," she whispered. Bethany looked at the girl and raised an eyebrow, "oh, how so?" she asked curiously, wondering what the girl saw in her. Makoto grinned again and turned to look up at her, "you don't just want to protect everyone here, you want to protect all chakra users and our families-" she said happily, "instead of just focusing on the fighting, you truly believe that there will come a time when all people, whether we have chakra or not will be able to live and work together- to bring peace and harmony to the world," her eyes glowed, "I really admire that about you Taicho- and I was wondering-" she suddenly began to blush and poke her fingers together nervously like in the beginning of their conversation, "will you be my big sister?!" she finally blurted.**

 **Bethany was shocked, before a wide grin stretched over her face, and she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly "thank you for your admiration, but I would also like you to see me as your equal as well as a leader if possible- I mean, we are all in this together here, and about your request-" she paused, "I'd be glad to be your big sister, though I already have a best friend who is like a younger sister and her older sister who is like a big sister, so I hope that you don't mind having more than one sibling?" she asked softly. Makoto smiled even wider than before, and she suddenly threw herself into the older girls arms, "of course I don't, I've never had any siblings before," she shed a few tears in happiness, "arigato, Nee-Sama" she said happily. Bethany giggled slightly and stroked the girls hair gently, "any time, Mako-Chan" she replied. The three Hokage, who had been watching the whole exchange smiled happily at this- well, all except Tobirama, who smirked instead of smiling.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Bethany was currently standing on one of the many battlefields that had been used during the course of the war. She was in a very, VERY,** ** _VERY_** **foul mood at the moment. She was standing and glaring at their enemies and exuding enough killing intent and hatred to make an Uchiha green with envy. The reason for her decidedly bad mood? Those bastards didn't just kill the children they'd managed to capture. No, the fate of the child warriors was, in reality much worse than any she could have imagined. Standing before them right now were several children, just about equal in number to their own forces. She could tell that each of them possessed chakra, and that it was very well developed for their ages. She could only guess as to what horrors those poor children had been put through at the hands of their twisted and sick-minded "teachers".**

 **Each child had blank and emotionless eyes, not fazed in the least by their presence or the strength they possessed what with all their training. It made the girl seethe inside at the very thought of those bastards tormenting and torturing the innocent and gentle souls that the other children had been. One of the children under her command looked at her, "Bethany-Taicho, what should we do?" he asked worriedly. Bethany frowned, as their opponents took up fighting stances, ready to attack. The girl closed her eyes and slowly removed her sword from its sheath, while getting into the opening stance of her sword style, which she named the Mokuzai buredo** **style, or wood blade. When she opened her eyes, they were filled with cold determination, "if we hesitate they'll kill us and I won't let that happen," she took one breath, "we have no choice- cut them down!" she called, and then shot into a blur of motion. Both sides clashed in a spray of sparks, children against children, brother against sister.**

 **Bethany despised this type of fighting more than any other, but to protect everyone she wouldn't hold back- just because her opponents were children was no excuse. Several of them lunged at her, but she flew through them as easily as a hot knife through butter. The government agents who were their watching smirked as several more doll-like children attacked her. Bethany growled as she attacked relentlessly, while her opponents did the same.** ** _'Those bastards,'_** **she thought with disdain,** ** _'how could they do something like this to these people- they were innocent god-damnit!'_** **she stopped and formed several hand signs, "Mokuton: wooden spear jutsu!" several large spikes that looked like giant splinters shot from the ground, tearing through the enemy children and a few of their adult masters at the same time.**

 **Madara attacked his own group of enemies, running through and taking them out with ease.** ** _'Heh,'_** **he thought, stopping and forming the horse hand sign,** ** _'I may hate this war, but at least it gives me a chance to test out these new jutsu'_** **"Katon: Great Fire Annihilation!" he called, blowing out a huge sheet of flames that obliterated a large number of their attackers in an instant. Bethany watched the range and power of the jutsu with awe,** ** _'so that's the greatest Uchiha's signature fire style jutsu in action? It sure lives up to its name'_** **the girl thought to herself, sheathing her blade and running through hand signs of her own, "Doton: Earth dragon bullet!" she cried, as a massive dragon head made out of earth or rather mud emerged out of the ground. It's mouth opened and it began shooting large balls of mud at the men around her, breaking up the ground that they were standing on due the force of the partly hardened rock hitting it.**

 **The leader of the enemy men growled, "retreat!" he called. Bethany watched the enemy run off with a sigh of relief,** ** _'at least we didn't lose too many people this time, but-'_** **she stared at the emotionless children who were following their enemies,** ** _'it feels like we've lost something much more important'_** **she thought, narrowing her eyes in sadness. "Alright everyone, you know the drill, find any weapons that we can use and bring them back to base, go!" she ordered. Immediately all the children spread out to search the battle field. In Bethany's mind, this was even worse than the battles themselves. Looting the corpses of adults and children alike for equipment was a foul practice, while killing was, for the moment a necessity of survival. The young woman sighed again, how she** ** _loathed_** **this war. "Nee-Sama" a familiar voice caught her attention.**

 **Bethany looked up to see Makoto standing in front of her, dressed in her own armour. She smiled slightly, "Mako-Chan, are you alright?" she asked, worried about the young girls state of mind. Makoto shifted from foot to foot, "I- it was, different, when we were just fighting adults," she replied softly. Bethany looked down, "yes, it was- adults are one thing, but this is the first time I've ever- the first time I've ever fought and killed children" she said. Makoto looked down, "Bethany-Nee, how long is this going to go on for? I- I don't-" the girl shuddered. The older girl sighed and closed her eyes, "there are only two ways that the fighting will end, 1. We make a peace treaty with the enemy, making sure that they agree not to attack us and showing them that we really have no intention but to live peacefully with everyone else, or 2.-" Bethany's expression grew dark and she opened her eyes again, "we wipe our enemies off the face of the planet entirely, that includes the children that they have brainwashed as well" Makoto gasped, "but, but that's-" she shivered in horror.**

 **The young woman sighed again and leaned back against the tree she was standing in front of, "it's not an option that I want to consider either, but if it's a choice between that and letting the fighting continue then-" Bethany clenched her fists, "I don't want, anymore of us to die needlessly, if this war had never started no one would have died in the first place," a single tear fell down her cheek, "I just want us to be free and to live in our place of peace" she all-but whispered. Makoto frowned, "Nee-Sama" she said sadly. The young woman stood up, "come on, let's get back" she said, then leapt off.**


	8. Chapter 8

**(Time skip)**

 **Four months had passed since Bethany had begun fighting, and it had been one month since Akito's death. The girl now no longer hesitated to fight, if only for the sake of her dream and everyone's safety. She spent a lot of time training and fighting, though she still found time for other things. Namely gardening, spending time with Madara and the others and talking with Hashirama. Bethany loved to listen to his stories, and was amazed at the similarities between their lives. Of course many things were still different. Namely the relationship between Bethany and Madara- while others, for example, their hatred of war and the wish to create a place of peace where children would no longer have to fight and die were almost mirror images of each other.**

 **Right now it was late, and time for him to tell her another tale of his past. Bethany snuggled under the sheets of her makeshift bed, ready for the man she admired above all else to begin. Hashirama chuckled, "ready for another story, Bethany-Chan?" he asked softly. The girl nodded and smiled, "hai, will you tell me how you built the Hidden Leaf Village Sensei?" she asked, eyes shining with anticipation. The man smiled, "of course, it might even help you when you build your village as well," he replied happily. He looked up at the roof, "well, it all started with the treaty between the Senju and the Uchiha Clans-"**

 ** _*flashback*_**

 ** _The Senju and Uchiha Clans, once the most hated of enemies, now stood side-by-side, watching as their respective Clan heads shook hands after agreeing to the peace treaty between them. The Uchiha Clan head stood powerful and tall in his dark blue formal robes, but if one looked closely, they could see the tiniest hint of a smile on his face. The Senju Clan head on the other hand stood just as tall and powerful as his fellow, but with a kinder and gentler air about him. Wearing his white and light blue formal robes, the man had a radiant and joyful air about him, one that made anyone who looked at him share in his happiness._**

 ** _The reason for the happy air today? The two Clans of Senju and Uchiha, Clans who had been fighting and killing each other for god knows how long, had just formed a peace treaty with one another. Now no more battles would be fought between them, no more family members would be lost to bitter hatred, and, most importantly, no more children would have to die. It was a joyous day indeed. The two men, childhood best friends and rivals turned mortal enemies, now stood as friends once more with the peace between them. Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha looked over their respective Clan members, their families, and they swore to themselves that from that day forward they would protect those precious to them along with the new home they were building, with all their strength._**

 ** _As the treaty was finalized, a great cheer went up amongst the assembled groups. The war was finally over!_**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 ** _Hashirama and Madara stood together and watched as their Clan members tentatively mingled and conversed with one another. Of course they knew that all the tensions and unease that had built up and been raging between their families over the centuries wouldn't be dispelled so quickly, but they hoped that it would be in time. Hashirama smiled, looking over at his friend, "this is it, we've finally begun building our dream Madara". The long-haired Uchiha returned the smile, albeit a smaller version "well, sort of- technically we haven't actually started_** ** _building_** ** _anything yet" he replied. The brown-haired Senju gasped and flinched back dramatically, "was that a joke! My god, the world's going to end and we haven't even started building!" he cried. A vein bulged on the Uchiha Patriarch's brow, "shut up!" he yelled at his friend._**

 ** _Hashirama bent over with a cloud of depression hanging over his head, "you're so mean" he whined, "and you're such a moron!" Madara yelled. The Senju leader laughed as he hopped up, "ah come on Madara, don't be such a wet blanket!" he wrapped his arm around the man's shoulders. The Uchiha leader huffed and turned away. Hashirama grinned, "well, I guess we'd better_** ** _start_** ** _building then, huh?" he asked. Madara smiled again and nodded. Hashirama walked into the center of where they were going to build their new home. He clapped his hands together, "Mokuton!" several houses grew out of the ground. Now they had places to live while they were building the rest of the village. Madara walked up to him as everyone cheered, "you know, now that we aren't fighting anymore, your techniques are pretty cool Hashirama" the brown-haired man grinned, "well, if we work together we should be able to build the village in no time," he replied._**

 ** _Hashirama looked at his friend, "I hope the future will be better than the past". Madara nodded, "I do too Hashirama" he replied._**

 ** _*Flashback end*_**

 **Bethany stared up at her teacher with awe, "wow, I hope Madara-Kun and I will be able to do that one day" she said. Hashirama smiled softly, "I'm sure you will Bethany-Chan, and I also hope that your happiness won't be as short-lived as ours was" he replied. Bethany yawned deeply, "I'm tired Sensei, will you stay until I fall asleep?" she asked. The Shodamine nodded, "of course, goodnight little one" he said gently. The young woman closed her eyes and was asleep within a few minutes.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **It had now been almost a full year since Bethany started fighting. While she had managed to make a lot of progress with her abilities and keeping her own people alive, the war had taken a mental tole on the girl. Though she still endured throughout the war, the stress was beginning to weigh her down. Having her teachers, Madara and all the other children support her had helped a lot, but it was still a lot of pressure to bear. Right now she was tending to the apple trees she had grown. After watering them Bethany infused a small amount of her Nature Chakra into the plants, making them glow with health and life. The girl smiled, the apples were looking delicious and ripe.**

 **Sitting back, Bethany sighed. She wondered when their peace would be achieved. She knew that to make it happen, both opposing sides would have to come to a consensus of peace and that for that, they would have to somehow convince the leaders of the world that they weren't dangerous, at least not if left alone. Despite everything, they weren't Shinobi. Not really. Right now all they were was children. They may not be innocent children, not by any stretch of the word- but they were children none-the-less, and that's what everyone failed to see. Or maybe they** ** _could_** **see it and that was** ** _why_** **they were doing what they were. After all, how could an adult understand that a** ** _child_** **could have gained control of this** ** _power_** **all by themselves? So they were just scared, and acted out of the possibility that they could become threats since they were unknowns. Well, at least she now understood what the problem was. But now a new problem arose, and that was, what could she** ** _do_** **about it?**

 **The young woman sighed again, why did** ** _everything_** **have to be so goddamn complicated, damnit!? "Bethany-Chan?" The girl gasped and spun around. Madara stood there, looking the tiniest bit smug for having snuck up on her, as everyone knew that besides the Senju brothers, Bethany had the highest sensing range among them, but only when she was moulding Chakra. The brown-haired girl pouted, "oh get over yourself Madara-Kun, surprising me when I'm deep in thought and surprising me when I'm in the midst of battle and actually** ** _trying_** **to sense people are two totally different things" she said in mock-annoyance. The real-world Uchiha smirked, "oh, is that so?" he asked in a teasing tone while walking up to her, "so then you wouldn't be surprised if I did** ** _this_** **?" suddenly he lunged at her, grabbing her by the waist and spinning her around in the air. Bethany squealed in surprise, giggling happily. She was so thankful for all the people in her life. If they weren't here she didn't know what she would have done.**

 **Madara set her down on the ground again, smirking, while Bethany stopped giggling. She mock-glared at the boy, causing Madara to laugh at her. "That wasn't funny Madara-Kun" but the way she said it and the look on her face told him she was joking. The boy settled down into chuckles, "oh, it wasn't?" he asked in fake surprise, "well then, I wonder if you'll find this funny?" his hands shot forwards again. Bethany, seeing the trajectory of those wiggling fingers, tried to move away, but he was too close, and he dug his fingers under her arms. Within an instant the girl's eyes went wide and she squealed, before breaking down into constant giggles. "Maha-dha-rha! St-a-ha-hap!" she laughed, attempting to move away again, but the boy had a death-grip on her body, and the feathery pressure he was inflicting in her sensitive underarms caused her to wiggle ineffectually. The black-haired boy grinned, he loved it when she laughed, and he had heard precious little of it since he had met her at the start of this year. Tears were beginning to well up in the girls eyes as she beat at him ineffectually, trying to get him to stop.**

 **"** **Aww, what's wong Beffany-Chan? Are you too ticklwish?" he asked in a baby voice. Bethany writhed under his tickling fingers, unable to stand the torture, "pleee-he-he-hese, sta-ha-hap it, ha, ha, ha, ha!" she begged. Ever since they'd found out that her underarms were the most sensitive part of her body tickle-wise, Madara had been taking every opportunity he could to exploit that weakness, and it seemed he was also an expert at tickling. After a few more minutes of laugher by Bethany and at her expense, the young Uchiha released his captive, watching as she collapsed to her knees, clamping her arms to her sides to protect them. The girl was still giggling and she turned to stare up at the boy with a fake glare while he laughed at her expression. Bethany pouted, while he just smirked again.**

 **"** **You're mean" she whined. Madara laughed, sitting down beside her, "you're just too easy to tease, because you get worked up so easily" he replied, causing Bethany to fall into a depression, not unlike her teacher "sorry my personality's so out of wack" she said, upset. The Uchiha smiled softly, grabbing her chin with his fingers and gently turning her to look over at him. Bethany's eyes widened as she stared into his obsidian ones, "Madara-Kun?" she asked softly. "Your personality is perfect, don't ever think otherwise," he said quietly. The girl blushed, "Madara-Kun" she breathed, as the boy inched his face forward. "Hey Bethany, it's lunchtime!" both froze instantly, before shooting away from each other, with faces to match an Uzumaki's hair colour. Minato, who had just come to find them, stared from one to the other, before he grinned cheekily, "oh I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" he asked in a tone that said: 'I know what you were up to'.**

 **The Uchiha bristled with embarrassment, "no, nothing at all!" he almost shouted, while Bethany pointedly stared away from both of them. The Yondamine's grin widened, before it disappeared as if it were never there in the first place, "alright then, I just wanted to let you two know that it was time for lunch, so you need to get to the eating hall before it's all gone," he replied, before the smirk returned, "now, have fun you two" he called, before vanishing in a yellow flash. Bethany and Madara sat there for a moment, before peeking at each other out of the corners of their eyes, still blushing. It wasn't really** ** _that_** **embarrassing being caught. After all, they had been getting closer in their relationship since they met. Bethany had felt like there was more than just friendship between them for a while now, but neither really had any idea how to go about it. Madara had told her that his father hadn't really been willing to talk about love since his wife died, so he didn't have much experience with it. Bethany's father on the other hand had always told her that when she started having feelings for a boy or boy's that she could come and talk to him about it.**

 **That would be good except for the fact that they had no way of contacting him at the moment. She didn't even know if he was still alright as he also possessed Chakra like her, so those government goons could have already captured him. Okay, bad thoughts, bad thoughts. Both soon proceeded to head to the makeshift dining room room so they could get their lunch.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Lunch was apples, grains, and water, again. It wasn't that bad, it was just boring having the same thing for every meal every day. Well at least they had food, and always would as long as either Bethany or Hashirama had Chakra to grow it. Bethany sat with her three teachers, sneaking glances at Madara who was sitting a short distance away on another bench. The spiky black-haired boy was eating his own apple in small focused bites, but his cheeks were still stained slightly red in a blush. So she knew that they both felt the same way about each other, but how did she go about telling him her feelings? This was one of the times she missed her Mummy. Well, she always missed her, but even more-so now.**

 **The young woman sighed, why was it so difficult to say three words? After eating, Hashirama took his student aside. He held up a blank piece of paper, "alright now, this is Chakra paper, do you know what happens if you channel your Chakra into it?" he asked. Bethany nodded, "hai, the paper will react to the natural elements present in the Chakra, If you have a wind based Chakra element the paper will split in half, if you have water it will become soggy, if your element is earth the paper will crumble to dust, if it's fire it will burn to ashes and if your element is lightning the paper will go crinkly" she replied. The Shodaimine nodded, "yes, that's exactly right Bethany-Chan," he said with a smile, "now, watch my paper, as yours will probably react the same way".**

 **Hashirama held the paper between his pointer and middle finger while forming the Rat hand sign. As she thought, the paper crumbled into a fine dust which fell onto the floor in a pile before becoming soggy. Bethany tilted her head to the side, "so that's why you use your earth element more than your water one, your earth natured Chakra is stronger and therefore the more dominant element" she said in realisation, nodding her head as it made sense. Hashirama smiled and nodded, "that's right, well done" the girl blushed and grinned at that. He held out a piece of Chakra paper to her, "your turn" he said simply. Bethany nodded and took the paper, focusing her Chakra into it. She was slightly surprised when her paper reacted the same way as her teacher's.** ** _Exactly_** **the same way. The Shodamine raised one eyebrow thoughtfully, "now that's interesting, your Chakra seems to be exactly the same as mine, even down to ratio of the elements" he said. Bethany tilted her head to the side, "hold on, I've never thought of this before, but since I have your bloodline, does that mean I'm a Senju?" she asked curiously.**

 **Hashirama smiled slightly, "well, do you want to be?" he asked gently. The girl frowned in thought, "I'm not sure, I've always been a Middleton ever since I was born, but if I am a member of your clan, it would be pretty stupid not to acknowledge it, so-" she looked up at her teacher, "could I be a Middleton Senju?" she asked. The man nodded, "of course, I'd be happy for you to become a part of my family, Bethany-Chan" he said sincerely. And so, Bethany Sharon Kelly Middleton became Bethany Sharon Kelly Middleton Senju.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Bethany was, at this moment practicing with some Earth-style jutsu that Hashirama had taught her. It had been agreed that once she had a handle on her Earth nature Chakra, Tobirama would teach her water-style techniques. She'd already mastered one jutsu that the Shodaimine had taught her earlier in the year, the Earth Dragon Bullet jutsu. Now she was learning the jutsu Earth Shore Return, a defensive jutsu that caused a large shield of earth to rise from the ground in front of her. Depending on the amount of Chakra and what her nature was, led to how tall and strong she could make it. The main reason for learning this technique was to help protect herself and her comrades from attack. Also it would buy her enough time to perform other jutsu that required more hand signs and thus more time.**

 **Slamming her palms on the ground, she called out the name of the Jutsu, "Doton: Earth Shore Return!" a large wall of earth rose up in front of the girl. Bethany stared hard at the wall, before she began patting it and poking it to test its durability. Nodding, the young woman stepped back and raised her fist. She had recently mastered Tsunade's super strength, or at least she was close to it. "Hhhaaaa!" she exclaimed, punching the rock with her current full strength. The wall shattered in a spray of debris, pieces of shrapnel flying everywhere. Bethany stood up and scowled at the remains of her wall. She remembered what Hashirama had told her:**

 ** _*Flashback*_**

 ** _The Shodaimine stood in front of the girl he had taught for the last year. He was very proud of how far she had come in that time. They really were alike when he thought about it. "Alright now Bethany-Chan, the next jutsu I am going to teach you is another earth style jutsu," he started. The girl nodded, "hai Sensei" Hashirama nodded back, "it's a C-Rank defensive jutsu called Earth Shore Return. Basically it creates a defensive shield in front of the user that can block almost all attacks, but requires precise Chakra control to make a capable shield that can withstand the amount of impact that you'll need, do you understand?" he asked. Bethany nodded again. Hashirama smiled. It was amazing to think that the girl had come so far on will power alone. It reminded him of himself when he was young._**

 ** _"_** ** _Good, now, to create a stable and effective barrier against techniques, you will need to control the amount of Chakra you use very precisely and that is what makes this technique so hard to perform, especially in the midst of battle" he explained. "Right" Bethany replied, listening carefully. "Alright, watch me, it will be easier if you see the jutsu in action first" Hashirama clapped his palms on the ground, "Doton: Earth Shore Return!" he called as a large, thick wall of earth rose out of the ground. Bethany gasped at the sheer size of the wall. Once it had reached its full height, the Shodaimine stood back, "okay, now, hit it with Tsunade's 'Strength Of A Hundred' jutsu, that will give you a good estimate of how durable it is and how strong you want your own wall to be" he explained. The girl nodded and focused her Chakra to her right fist._**

 ** _Once she had gathered a good enough amount, Bethany reared back her fist and hit the earth wall as hard as she could. To her surprise, the rock didn't even tremble, and her hand was_** **really** ** _sore. "Ahhh, damn, if I didn't have the same Chakra as you, and wasn't able to heal my wounds as soon as I got them, that probably would have broken my hand" she hissed in pain and shook her healing hand, "man that hurts". Hashirama frowned, "let me see" he said, holding his own hand out to her. Bethany shook her head, "no it's okay, Sensei, I'm fine, really" she replied, not wanting to worry him. The man stared at her, "Bethany-Chan" he said expectantly. The young woman froze, "okay, okay" she said quickly, placing her injured hand in her teachers open palm. He inspected it for a moment, before healing Chakra gathered in his own hands and the warm energy flowed through the girl's body, healing the wound faster._**

 ** _"_** ** _Well, luckily you don't have any broken bones and your wounds are already almost healed, unfortunately it will still hurt for quite a while, or it would if I wasn't here" he said gently, finishing off repairing any nerve damage as her own body finished healing her hand. The girl sighed in relief, before smiling brightly at her teacher, "arigato Sensei" she said gratefully. Hashirama smiled back, "no problem, now, you know how strong your wall has to be, so start trying to create an earth wall the same density as mine" he said. Bethany nodded, her eyes gleaming in determination, "hai Sensei". She gathered Chakra and clapped her hands together in the Snake hand sign, "Doton: Earth Shore Return!" she shouted as the wall sprang up from the ground. Bethany frowned slightly as saw that it wasn't even half as high as the one her teacher had created. The Shodaimine cocked his head to the side as he examined his student's first attempt at the jutsu._**

 ** _He began poking the wall and stared at it intently for a moment. "Well, it seems stable enough at the moment, but will it stand up to attack?" Hashirama nodded at Bethany who took a breath and walked up to the wall that she had made. Once again focusing her Chakra into her fist, she punched the wall as hard as she could. To her surprise, the earth shattered instantly. The girl looked shocked for a moment, before she fell to the ground in a depression- something that she had picked up unconsciously from her Sensei was his habit of getting depressed easily. She sat facing away from him with her arms wrapped around her knees and her head buried in her arms._**

 ** _The Shodamine sweat-dropped slightly, "Bethany-Chan, it wasn't that bad, honest" he said, trying to cheer the girl up. Bethany moaned, "but, but- my wall didn't even last a minute, while yours didn't even shake," she looked up, streams of anime tears flowing down her face, "added to that, it was barely higher than my head, and this is supposed to be one of my natural elements!" she whined, hiding her face again. Hashirama smiled softly and sat down next to her, staring at the pile of rubble that was her earth wall. He sat silently for a moment, before he spoke up, "you know, the first time I performed this jutsu, my earth wall fell apart on its own after only a few seconds" he said quietly. The young woman looked up, slightly shocked, "it did, seriously?" she asked. The brown-haired man chuckled and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "yep, it was the same with a lot of my training, I had to work my butt off to become as strong as I am now, but it was worth it," he smiled slightly as he stared forwards._**

 ** _Bethany blinked, and after a moment of silent thought asked a question, "why?" Hashirama looked at her questioningly, so she rephrased the question, "why was it worth it?" she asked curiously. The Shodaimine smiled gently, a knowing look in his eyes, "because- while it was difficult getting there, the end result meant that I became strong- and with that strength came the ability to protect those close to me". Bethany's eyes widened a little, while her teacher, the man she admired above all else and the strongest man in his world since his first life Asura just smiled. The girl nodded, her eyes once again burning with the Will Of Fire, something that pleased Hashirama and she jumped up, "I AM going to master this jutsu and all the others as well- and I'll become strong enough to achieve our dream!" she exclaimed, determined. The second God Of Shinobi nodded, watching with a proud smile as his student once again created a wall of earth in front of her and punched it. The wall shattered again and she cursed, "damn it! well then, I'll do it again!" Bethany exclaimed, forming the hand sign, "Doton: Earth Shore Return!"._**

 ** _Hashirama continued to watch the girl he had grown so attached to attempt the technique again and again, 'I believe in you Bethany-Chan, and I know that you will become stronger than even me' he thought with a smile._**

 ** _*End flashback*_**

 **The girl nodded and continued practicing the Jutsu. After her 50** **th** **attempt, Bethany stared hard at her earth wall. Gathering Chakra again, she punched the wall- hard. She gasped however, when the wall didn't break- didn't even crack. She stared in shock, "I did it," she gasped and leaped into the air, "I DID IT!" she exclaimed, fist-pumping the air in excitement. "I gotta go tell Sensei!" she cried happily and ran off to find the other wood user.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Hashirama was currently meditating. He sighed as all the tension that had built up from fighting in** ** _another_** **war slowly ebbed away. He really hated war, and the fact that he had had to fight in three of them now made him more upset then he would say. He would never blame Bethany though. It wasn't the girls fault, they had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Though he did consider it good that his student was becoming stronger in both body and in spirit. Despite all that she had to go through, Bethany still aspired to bring peace between the child Chakra users and the rest of the world. No- the young woman was incredibly bright and strong, though she had a lot of trouble with some things, she soaked up all the knowledge that they had taught her like a sponge, and even with the difficulties she faced in her training, Bethany always endured for the sake of her dream, her comrades, her family and even the people who she didn't know but who would benefit from her goals as well.**

 **Yes Bethany Middleton Senju was a fighter like himself and she would always do what was right. He greatly respected the girl for this- she was really something. Sensing his students Chakra approaching, the man came out of his meditation just as she stopped, panting, in front of him. She grinned, "I did it! I completed the jutsu!" she exclaimed, her eyes shining with pride and hope. Hashirama looked stunned for but a brief moment before he grinned back, "well done Bethany-Chan, I knew you could do it" he said proudly. Bethany smiled, knowing that she did something that her Sensei was proud of made everything worthwhile. The Shodai's smile softened and he patted the ground in front of him, "would you care to join me?" he asked softly. The young woman nodded and sat in front of her teacher with a sigh after having run so fast.**

 **Both sat silently for a few moments, settling into their meditation. Suddenly the girl spoke up, "Sensei, do you know that a year and a half ago I was nothing more than the weakest of civilians?" she asked softly. Hashirama raised his eyebrow, but said nothing, allowing the girl to quietly speak her mind as the meditation calmed her. "I was lazy, timid, weak and had absolutely no solid goal in life- then, then you and the others appeared. You didn't care that I was weak, and with the three of you I at last saw a chance to become stronger," Bethany sighed, her eyes closed, "though when I began training I still had no idea what I wanted to do, all I knew was that I had a chance to do something that no one else did- it took coming here and being forced to fight that made me finally see what my goal was- what I wanted," she opened her eyes and stared at her teacher, "I truly wanted to protect these people and all others like us, so that no one else has to suffer as we have, that's why- even if it's hard, even if it takes a while, I will make the dream Madara-Kun and I share a reality, for the sake of everyone I care about- no matter what it takes".**

 **Hashirama stared deep into his students Hazel eyes and saw the pure determination shining there. He nodded, "I am sure that you will succeed Bethany-Chan, as long as you never give up" he replied. Bethany smiled and nodded, returning to her meditation, but not before saying one last thing: "thank you, all of you, I would never have made it this far without all of your help" the Shodaimine smiled softly and both settled once again.** ** _'You truly are something, Bethany'_** **.**


	9. Chapter 9

**_(Time skip: 5 years later)_**

 **It had been five years since Bethany had joined the war and six years since it started. Bethany and Madara were now young adults at the age of twenty-one, and both had improved their strength by leaps and bounds. Bethany now stood around a head taller than she was before and had stopped growing, much to her eternal ire at still being short. Her long brown hair had been grown out and now fell to her waist in a style similar to her Sensei's. Her casual clothes consisted of a long brown and dark green kimono dress with long sleeves, worn over a pair of back hakama pants. Stitched onto the back of all her casual clothes was the Senju crest. Her battle attire hadn't changed much, black long sleeved shirt and pants like her Sensei wore under his battle outfit, and red samurai armour, while she wore her sword attached to her hip.**

 **Madara on the other hand had changed a lot as well. He now stood a head taller than Bethany, while his long inky black hair fell in spikes down his back, reaching a point about mid-back. Part of it fell into his face and covered his left eye from view, while his right shone red with a fully matured Sharingan spinning lazily around the pupil. His casual clothes were fairly simple in design, consisting of a long black or dark grey dress-like robe. Around his waist he wore a black belt with a white bandage around it's centre and on his feet he wore simple sandals. On the back of all his shirts he wore the Uchiha fan, completing the outfit. His battle attire was red armour over black long pants and a long sleeved black shirt. On his hip he carried a sword, while on his back was a large white Gunbai with black trimming around the edges and three red tomoe at the top section near the handle. Attached by a chain was a large scythe with a black blade that he used in conjunction with the War Fan. Though his skill with the sword was such that he hardly had to use his Gunbai and scythe at all.**

 **The skills the two possessed were incredible. Bethany, after five years of training had mastered her earth natured Chakra completely, and almost mastered water. She learned several more wood-style jutsu and even created a few of her own. All the wood techniques that she knew, original or otherwise were written down on a large scroll that she had created and carried on her back for safe keeping. With a preservation and blood seal protecting her techniques, she made sure that no one other than herself or her descendants could open and read them for the protection of clan techniques. She had learned medical Ninjutsu from Hashirama and was far better at it than even Tsunade, in her Sensei's opinion. Her strength was at Tsunade's level and her natural speed was at Tobirama's Flying Thunder God jutsu level. When she did use the jutsu she could cross large distances in an instant, just like her Sensei's.**

 **Her prowess with seals had also reached an extremely high level, while her skills with Kenjutsu had reached the point of being just below master and she had mastered Hashirama's Sage Mode just a little while ago. All in all it looked as though Bethany would catch up with Hashirama fairly soon. Madara on the other hand had also come far. He had mastered many fire style jutsu and matured his Sharingan to the third stage. The two were able to work together flawlessly in battle, Bethany coming up with plans on the fly that took each of their strengths into account, even creating a specialised fighting style that they could integrate the others talents into to work together and take down enemies seamlessly. Most of the other children were either teenagers or preteens now, and they were fairly proficient with their own abilities. There was no doubt in everyone's minds that Bethany and Madara were the strongest fighters that they'd had since coming together, other than the three Hokage of course. In terms of skill, Bethany put herself at a little less than a quarter away from Hashirama, something that she was very proud of.**

 **Madara, she estimated was about halfway between Izuna Uchiha's strength level and Madara's level from Naruto. That was even more incredible, as he'd trained himself for the last six years without anyone else teaching him. It had been hard for Bethany, but with her determination to succeed and the support of everyone else, she had been able to rise through her troubles with the fighting. She still loathed war, but she was determined to bring about their peace either way. At this moment, both stood together on the cliff where they'd stood all those years ago and sworn to create their own village, staring out over the tranquil forests below them as the wind blew through their hair, sending leaves fluttering around them in a gentle dance. Madara took a deep breath, "it's been five years," he said in a quiet and controlled tone of voice.**

 **Bethany said nothing, allowing the young man to continue, "five years since we met and pledged to create our own home, and six years since the war started- but it doesn't matter, we will make our home and the war will end- right?" he asked softly, almost- hesitant. Bethany grinned brightly, "yes, we will- we have gotten stronger in the last few years Madara-Kun, everyone has, and when the time comes we will achieve our dream- together" she said, absolute confidence in her words. She had no doubt that they would create their new village and that the fighting would end. And with Bethany by his side, Madara truly believed that true peace could be achieved, even if it was only for them at first. The warm sunlight shone down on the two, almost illuminating them with its light. They** ** _would_** **succeed, no matter what.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Bethany and Madara walked, hand-in-hand, back into their hideout. All the others smiled and waved at their leader and her boyfriend as they walked through the caves. Bethany grinned and waved back to the people. To** ** _her_** **people. She couldn't help but see it that way. Even though she knew that most of those smiles were fake, still she smiled back, encouraging them to hold on just a little longer. The oldest of the children were now young men and woman, some were teenagers, a few were preteens and there were a small amount who were still young enough to be called children. "Bethany Nee-Sama!" called a female voice from behind the two. The young woman smiled and turned around.**

 **Like the girl standing before her now. Makoto was now twelve years old, her lavender hair tied into one long plat, instead of the two she had three years ago. Her white Hyuuga eyes now held the Byakugan, which she had activated the year before and mastered to the point of learning Rotation, Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms and Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Protective Palms. She was a child prodigy, but thankfully held none of the arrogance that Neji had had before Naruto beat it out of him. Her smile widened slightly when Makoto ran up to her. Bethany opened her arms and the girl entered her embrace. "Hey Mako-Chan, how are you?" she asked softly, gently holding the girl who she considered to be her third sister and second younger sister in her arms. Makoto frowned, "I'll be better when this stupid war ends" she said. The brown-haired girl softly stroked the younger girls hair, "don't worry, it will end soon, I promise" she said soothingly. The lavender-haired girl nodded before pulling out of her older sister's grasp and looking at her, "well, I have to go now, I'll see you later Nee-Sama" she called as she ran off.**

 **Bethany smiled sadly as she watched her go, but it only hardened her resolve to bring peace. Three young men suddenly appeared behind her, "report!" she ordered as she turned to face them. These three, 18, 19 and 20 years old respectively were some of the oldest of the chakra users as well as the most experienced at gathering information. They were also brothers and worked well together, therefore she had made them her reconnaissance team. The oldest, Ren, nodded and began, "Bethany-Taicho, the enemy appears to have been amassing their forces and weapons and will attack within the next 3 months" he reported solemnly. Bethany frowned, so soon? The second oldest, Kam spoke up then, "from what we were able to gather, while they are wary of our strength, especially yourself and Madara-Sama, they still believe most of us to be untrained and weak children, and are not that concerned with most of our forces, seeing you two as the biggest threats along with Hashirama-Sama, Tobirama-Sama and Minato-Sama, and are sure to attempt to separate us from the five of you" he told her.**

 **The young woman folded her arms, well they were right about her teachers, herself and Madara-Kun being the most powerful. They seem to have gotten smarter as well, trying to split the strongest off from the weak, take the weak out then concentrate their efforts on the five strongest fighters. However, they didn't know just who they were dealing with, Bethany and Madara alone working together would be fatal to the government bastards, but if they intended to push the others in with them as well, well, they would be in for a shock. The amount of people it would take to isolate the five of them would be massive, most likely most of their forces. And don't even get her started on beating them. After all, even when only little more than a corpse, the Naruto worlds Madara was able to decimate the fourth division of the Allied Shinobi Forces by himself, and when restored to life was able to push the combined force of seven tailed beasts back with only one eye. The real worlds Madara may not be that powerful yet, but with Bethany, let alone the three Hokage all working together and all their enemies attention focused on them, the others should be able to pick off the few bastards who managed to escape. It would basically be mass suicide if their enemies were to go through with it.**

 **Laughing slightly at the sheer stupidity of these people, she was interrupted by the youngest of the brothers, Nami, "what's wrong Taicho?" he asked curiously. Bethany, in a rare moment of sadistic pleasure, grinned darkly at the three, which made them shiver, "if that's their plan, then they are severely idiotic, much more than I gave them credit for- they're walking into their own destruction!" she laughed again, causing the three brothers to tremble at the amount of killing intent their leader was exuding. Well, they guessed that everyone had a random moment of insanity in this war, in fact it was to be expected of all of them eventually. Slowly calming down, Bethany smiled apologetically at the three young men, "Gomen'nasai, thank you for that information and for your service, I appreciate it" she said gratefully. The three nodded, small smiles on their faces, "you're welcome Bethany-Taicho" Ren replied, as they left.**

 **Bethany now had to come up with a plan, if the enemy sent as many as she thought, they just might have a chance to stop the war after all. Smiling slightly at that thought, Madara, who up until this point had been listening quietly, spoke up, "and what's that look for?" he asked with a slight smirk. He too had been laughing inwardly at the thought of those bastards idiotic plan. Bethany grinned, "because, if we can beat them into submission, maybe we can end this useless bloodshed sooner than we thought" she replied. Madara smiled gently and took his girlfriends hand again, "I know we can" he whispered, lightly kissing her forehead, and causing Bethany to blush with a happy smile on her face. An end to the war. Oh how she hoped it would be.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **In the months leading up to the "big attack" as Bethany called it, the two refined the techniques that they had learned. Madara became even closer to reaching his namesakes level of strength. Bethany meanwhile was almost as strong as her teacher, since she was going to hit her prime any day now. Right now they were enjoying a brief rest bite in the form of skipping stones at the nearby river. Bethany had always wanted to learn how to skip stones but had never had the opportunity. The young woman extended her arm back and threw the stone. Unknown to them, they had an observer. Hashirama viewed the two from the treetops, watching as they performed an activity he remembered from his childhood. He smiled, remembering how many times it took before he could get his stone to the other side of the river.**

 **The stone bounced once, twice and sunk beneath the water. The girl stared with wide eyes. Madara looked impassively at the river, "well, that was- disappointing" he said. Bethany collapsed to her knees in a depression, "it's not my fault that I'm bad at this!" The Uchiha laughed, "man, I don't get how someone like you can get depressed so easily! Ha! Ha! Ha!" The young woman became annoyed at this and jumped to her feet, "well if** ** _you're_** **so good at it, why don't** ** _you_** **go!" she snapped. Madara smirked, "heh, you'll see,** ** _my_** **rock will make it!" he said confidently. Bethany just pouted and crossed her arms. He picked up a stone, turned towards the water and drew his arm back, a look of concentration on his face. Then he threw his stone forwards. It hit the water and sunk immediately. It didn't even bounce. The black haired man had his mouth hanging open in shock. Bethany held her hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter, "well, that was- disappointing" she mimicked, before she broke out into giggles. A tick mark appeared on Madara's head.**

 **Despite loving the girl more than anything, she could still get him more worked up than anyone, "shut up!" he yelled, turning back to his girlfriend, "you threw off my concentration, I get tense when people stand behind me!" he yelled. Bethany fell to the ground in a depression again, "I'm sorry I'm such a burden" she moaned. Hashirama stifled a chuckle of his own, they were so much like himself and his worlds Madara when they were young. Madara sighed and knelt down, cupping her cheek with his hand and tilting her face up so their eyes met "you could never be a burden, to us- or to me" he said softly. Bethany blushed, "Madara-Kun, I-" she paused and bit her lip, "no, I-it's nothing" she stuttered, looking down. The two sat silently for a moment, before a few splashing sounds could be heard and then a clatter. Bethany blinked and looked up, to see a smug looking Madara, "my stone's over now" he said in a sing-song voice.**

 **The young woman gapped, before exploding, "you cheater!" she cried indignantly. The Uchiha smirked, "don't you know- all's fair in love and war, Bethany-Chan" he said mockingly. The girl was twitching violently, "damn you Uchiha" she growled darkly. Madara laughed while folding his hands behind his head, "deal with it Senju, I'm just better than you" he grinned, causing Bethany to fume, before she broke into laughter. Madara laughed again too and soon both were rolling on the floor, laughing hysterically. Madara calmed down first and laid on the grass next to Bethany, "I'm glad we got this time to relax- we're not going to have much more of it for a while, are we?" he asked sadly. Bethany lay next to him with her arms spread out beside her, a solemn look on her face as she stared up at the blue sky with small wisps of white clouds streaking here and there, "no, we won't" she replied just as sad. Both were quiet for a while, just enjoying the tranquillity of that moment, never wanting it to end.**

 **Suddenly Bethany sighed softly, causing Madara to turn his head to look at her, "you know Madara, we may not survive this next battle- I mean, we are strong, but everyone has a limit to their strength, and if we do end up dying, I just wanted to say-" she paused, biting her lip. She wanted to say 'I love you' but couldn't bring herself to say the words, not when she could die and leave the man she loved heartbroken for the rest of his life. She would never allow someone she cared about so deeply to suffer so much pain if there was anything she could do about it. "Thank you," she said at last, "thank you for standing by me all this time, thank you for believing that my dream could come true- and thank you for caring about me the way I care about you" she said softly. It was the closest she could come to saying it until the war ended. Thankfully, Madara seemed to understand, "you're welcome Bethany, and don't worry, I'll always stay by your side" it was the closest he could come to saying it as well until the end.**

 **Bethany smiled again and returned her gaze to the calm blue sky. For now, that was all there was. Hashirama watched the two and frowned,** ** _'don't worry, I won't let either of you know that pain- I promise, you will live through this and you_** ** _will_** ** _build your new home, of that I swear'_** **the thought determinedly.**


	10. Chapter 10

**The young woman was once again going over battle plans with her teachers. So far the plan was basically to butcher the men from both sides. While Madara, Bethany and her three teachers would wipe out the majority, the others would swarm in from behind and take out whoever was left. Not much of a plan, but good enough. Bethany folded her hands together under her chin, "I think one thing we should also focus on is making sure as many of us as possible survive this battle, yes we may have strength on our side, but they may have numbers on theirs, and I'll be damned if I let so many of my people die just like that" she said firmly. The three Hokage nodded, "I think that's a good plan Bethany, after all, you are their leader and as leader it's your duty to protect your people as well as lead them" Minato agreed with a smile and a nod. Bethany smiled back, "it's been four years since we've really had any casualties in this war, and there is no way I'd just let them all die," she then frowned and crossed her arms, "no, not again" she said with narrowed eyes.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **There were now just a few days before the battle was to occur and everyone was tense and waiting. They readied their weapons and prepared their jutsu, but it still wasn't enough to ease their nervousness for what was possibly their last battle either way. Bethany, after cleaning and sharpening her sword, meditated for the majority of the time in an attempt to stay calm and focused for what was to come. She couldn't deny the fact that she was fairly nervous herself, but was able to remain composed due to her meditation. Some of the older ones, (in other words, the young men and women like herself and Madara) were worried and excited at the same time. Worried for the same reasons that Bethany was, and excited for the fact that not only did it seem as though peace might be achieved soon, but after spending so long fighting, they relished the thrill of a large battle.**

 **The pre-teens were mostly worried, but trusted in their own abilities and their comrade's strength enough to have the confidence to follow their leader into battle. The younger ones were afraid, though, having spent most of their lives on the battlefield, were hardened enough to keep their fear in check until the battle was over. They were all waiting until the call for battle came, almost praying that things would end the way they hoped. Then, it began.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **It was a tense but otherwise normal day in the hideout. The war would start again soon, and everyone was on their toes, waiting in anticipation, dread or both for the call to battle to come. Bethany was getting agitated and she wouldn't stop pacing all over the caves. Tobirama sighed as he watched her, "calm down, getting upset won't help things" he said stoically. Bethany glared at him, "oh get off my back already! I don't need you to tell me when to calm down!" she snapped. Minato blinked, "wow, you're even worse than last time" he commented offhandedly, but was silenced by a generous helping of killing intent from the girl. The Yondamine shivered as he stared at his student. He then started sweating profusely when black flames seemingly appeared around her body with thunder flashing ominously in the background and her eyes turned into red flames of their own, "what-was-that?" she hissed, daring the blond to make a sound so she could kill him.**

 **Minato wisely kept his mouth shut and shook his head in an 'I said nothing- please don't kill me' gesture. Bethany sighed, her anger dissolving as quickly as it had come "I'm sorry Sensei- you're right, but I just can't relax, the war is coming to its climax and things are so complicated at the moment- maybe I'm really not up to being a leader, I've tried so hard but maybe I'm just not right for this," she looked down, a sad smile on her face. The Yondamine frowned, "Bethany, we understand how you feel- and if you ever need it, we're here for you" he smiled slightly. The young woman smiled back, "arigato, Minato-Sensei". Suddenly Makoto ran in. She looked scared, "Nii-Sama, they're here!" she cried. Bethany immediately snapped into, what the others had dubbed 'leader mode', "everyone get ready, remember the plan and try to stay as calm as possible- it is crucial that we win this battle!" she called, teleporting off to her room to get ready.**

 **She got changed quickly, pulling on her black under clothes and armour then attaching her sword to her hip. She tied her jutsu scroll around her back, making sure it was secure and filled her weapon pouch with Flying Thunder God kunai. After checking over herself to make sure she didn't miss anything, she ran out of her room. As she went to meet up with everyone, she saw the tree that she had grown over Akito's grave. Pausing for a moment, she kneeled before it, "hey Taicho, though I don't believe in ghosts or people having souls or anything like that, it still feels right to talk to you for at least a moment about what's going on," she paused slightly before continuing, "the enemy is trying to wipe my Sensei, Madara-Kun and myself out so that they can take care of the weaker members of our group, and while I don't believe that they will succeed in killing all five of us at once, I'm still slightly worried about the others- I want to be a good leader and protect them, but I don't know if what I'm doing is right," she paused again and sighed.**

 **"** **Well, I guess only time will tell, won't it?" she asked, looking up at the tree. Standing up quickly, she turned to go, but not before placing her left hand on the bark of the tree, "I promise, I'll tell you all about it when we get back- about how we ended the war and are finally free" she said resolutely, eyes not wavering in their determination. Then she turned and ran back to the others.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **The plan worked perfectly, while the men were focused on Bethany, Madara and the three Hokage, the others blitzed them from all sides. Despite their 'plan', the government bastards and the brainwashed children were no match for the sheer power of the five, nor did they possess the numbers Bethany's group had. The Shodamine and Bethany took out their opponents with the Mokuton, while Madara sliced through the men. Grinning, he sheathed his sword and pulled his Gunbai and Scythe off his back. He looked at his opponents impassively for a moment, before he took on the real Madara's 'fight face' causing many of them to wet themselves from fear, "do you wish to dance?" he asked, before he shot into motion once again. The poor, poor bastards didn't even stand a chance.**

 **Tobirama and Minato were basically doing the same thing, throwing their kunai and then shooting through their enemies and cutting them down before they even had a chance to blink, though Minato used kunai while Tobirama preferred to use his sword. Bethany meanwhile was using her Wood jutsu to attack, while using her sword to defend. She formed the Tiger, Snake and Tiger hand signs in quick succession, "everyone back!" she called, her voice ringing across the battle field. At once all the children and her teachers disengaged their opponents, and jumped back behind the woman. The enemy, thinking that they were pushing the young warriors back, let out a battle cry and ran forwards. Oh how wrong they were. Moulding a huge amount of Chakra, the young Senju's voice suddenly cried out: "Mokuton: Deep Forest Emergence!" tree roots burst from the ground, as a massive forest grew at an ever quickening pace, trapping their opponents in a thick canopy of trees. Tobirama turned to his older brother, "you taught her that?" he asked. Hashirama grinned, "I did, and she mastered it beautifully" he replied.**

 **Turning around slightly, Bethany looked at her boyfriend, "Madara, you know what to do, just like we practiced" she said. The Uchiha nodded and jumped into the air while forming the Horse hand sign, "Katon: Great Fire Annihilation!" he called, and a huge wave of flames descended from his mouth upon their trapped adversaries, burning the forest and them along with it. Bethany watched with narrowed eyes, "that was too easy" she said after a moment. Suddenly, a pair of hands shot out of the ground and gripped her ankles. Bethany cried out in shock, but it was too late as she was dragged down into the earth until she had completely disappeared from view. Everyone gasped, while Madara was the most worried out of all of them, "Bethany!" he cried.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **When she'd stopped moving through the earth, Bethany found herself falling through space instead. "Oh shit!" she exclaimed, quickly clapping her hands together, "Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!" she cried once again. A huge forest of trees sprouted from the ground underneath her. Landing on one of the branches, she 'surfed' down the trees until she reached the ground. Bethany sighed in relief when she was standing on solid ground once again, glad that she wasn't a splatter on solid ground instead. The girl then began examining her surroundings, "where am I?" she asked herself. "An underground cavern that exists below our battle ground- dig deep enough and you'll find it easily enough- we've been using it for our hideout since we left" a voice said, seemingly from all around her. The young woman grit her teeth, "who and where are you?" she demanded, looking around slightly nervously as she still couldn't see who was speaking.**

 **The voice laughed, "oh, to see you in such a situation has been my dream for such a very long time- you have no idea how satisfying that look of fear in your eyes is" he replied. Bethany frowned, "I am not afraid of you, fear is only a state of mind" she replied monotonously, sounding like she was quoiting someone. And she was. Tobirama-Sensei had told her that when she'd again tried the tree-climbing exercise in the forests and was worried because of her fear of heights. The voice sniggered, "oh really, then you're not at all afraid because you can't see me, because you don't know where I am?" it asked, "you're not afraid because you don't know who I am and you don't know how powerful I might be?" Bethany was starting to breath faster, what the voice said was true, but she tried to ignore it, "you're not afraid because you don't know what's happening to your comrades above you? What about your precious Madara-Kun, he could be dying right now, but because everyone's fighting no one has time to save him" the voice taunted with malicious cruelty.**

 **The young woman covered her ears and closed her eyes, "shut up" she hissed, trying desperately to block out the mans- as she could tell it was a man by the sound of his voice- words, but it did nothing, "I wonder if he's bleeding out, or maybe he's been stabbed in the chest and is slowly drowning in his own blood," he said sadistically. Bethany growled, "shut up!" she cried, louder than before. "Maybe he's lost a limb and is slowly dying in agony- maybe he's calling out for you, begging you to save him or to stop the pain, but you can't because you're so pathetic that you can't even save the people you care about" the voice stated, cruelly taunting her with her fears and the thought of the people she loved the most dying in horrible ways that she couldn't save them from. "STOP IT!" she screamed, almost begging as images came, unbidden into her mind- images of Madara lying in a pool of his own blood, each agonized breathe coming out slow and painful, with tears in his eyes from the thought that he failed to make their dream a reality, dying all alone.**

 **Bethany clenched her eyes shut tight, but the horrible thoughts and images wouldn't leave her alone, torturing her with guilt and pain- so much pain. The voice scoffed, "how pathetic, some strong leader you are- but then again, you did let Akito-Taicho die, so I shouldn't really expect you to do any better in protecting the others" he said hatefully. Bethany's eyes suddenly snapped open, as a memory came to the forefront of her mind. "Are- are you, Yue?" she asked. The boy said nothing for a moment, then started laughing darkly, "I guess it's what I said about Taicho that gave me away, wasn't it?" he asked. The woman growled, "you bastard, what the hell are you doing?!" she exclaimed, "siding with enemy! And I bet some of those children are the ones who followed you, am I right? I thought I recognized them!" Yue was silent, so she continued, "do you have any idea what's happening? Those bastards took the children who followed** ** _you_** **loyally, and what do you do? You let them torture those poor children until they had no emotions, until they were nothing but mindless weapons!" she exclaimed.**

 **"** **You're far worse than they'll ever be and do you know why!? It's because you abandoned your friends and you don't even seem to care! You're nothing more than scum! No, sorry, you're worse than scum, and people like you who don't care about their friends are utterly worthless!" she screamed, "SHUT UP!" Yue cried, leaping at the girl and attempting to end her life once and for all. To his surprise, Bethany turned and punched him straight in the face- hard. The boy was thrown back due to the force of the hit and landed on the ground, dazed. When he'd regained his senses, he looked up, and was both horrified and amazed at what he saw. The girl was radiating power as she stared at him. She could see him clearly now and vice-versa as the darkness that had been present before had really only been a jutsu Yue had used. Her face was different, black rings had now formed around her eyes, part of which spread out under her eyes to end at the sides of her face while another two lines angled downwards reaching a point about halfway towards her nose. A black target symbol had also appeared on her forehead.**

 **The boy scowled, "what is that?" he asked, annoyed that she had managed to punch him. Bethany smirked, "wouldn't you like to know" she mocked, before shooting forwards in her Wood Fist stance. What followed was a joke to the girl, as Yue couldn't even manage to block her hits, let alone fight back. Soon Bethany had had enough of using the boy for a glorified punching bag and sent a strong fist into his rib cage, shattering his bones in an instant and throwing him back into a rock. The young man coughed blood and collapsed onto the floor in agony. He looked up a moment later to see his opponent standing over him with a glare on her face. The boy was terrified and he couldn't even move away from the girl. Bethany sneered, "you're the pathetic one, I bet you don't even care about your comrade's at all- you'd gladly let them die as long as you got something out of it" she said, her eyes dark. She drew her sword from it's sheathe, "for the deaths you've caused, both on my side and your own, I will end you now- be grateful I'm showing you mercy and putting you out of your misery" she stated coldly. She brought the blade down.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Up above, everyone was panicking, while Madara and the three Hokage attempted to keep them calm. After Bethany and Madara's combination jutsu had died down, the others had swarmed their attackers just as planned and had been able to wipe most of them out, only leaving three alive and captured to await their leaders decision. Now though, Bethany had disappeared, dragged underground somewhere and everyone was worried. Makoto had been brought up and used her Byakugan to assess the situation, only for her range to fall slightly short of locating the woman. Hashirama was slightly worried, but he believed in his student. Tobirama knew how smart the girl was so he was sure that she could find a way out. Minato was worried as well but knew that Bethany wouldn't give up until her very last breath. Suddenly a flash of brown appeared and the woman they were all just thinking about appeared next to Madara. The boy was slightly shocked but got over it quickly. He was just glad that she was okay.**

 **"** **Bethany, thank god you're alright!" he exclaimed, hugging her tightly. Bethany sighed, "yeah, I'm fine, Yue was the one who led the other children to the government, he let them be tortured all for revenge on me" she said through gritted teeth. Everyone was shocked, "so, what happened to him?" Hashirama asked quietly. Bethany looked at her teacher, "he's dead" was all she said, or rather all she needed to say. They were all silent for a while, before the brown-haired woman smiled slightly, "so, how'd it go on your end?" she asked.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **After everything was said and done, they managed to forge a peace agreement with the enemy leaders, which the others had captured. Although it took a lot of promises on Bethany's part to 'keep a tight rein on your people' and some persuasive hypnosis Genjutsu on Madara's part to convince them that they wouldn't attack unless attacked themselves. But in the end the peace treaty was made, and their former enemies left. Unfortunately Bethany was forced to dispose of the children that had been brainwashed as she knew they'd never be able to function as normal human beings again, and would only suffer from their lives. Now there was lots of celebrating to be done, and the cheerful atmosphere lasted for days- finally the long war was over, finally they could live without fear of being attacked.**

 **Bethany and Madara sat next to each other as the festivities went on around them. They turned to face each other and smiled happily. Finally their dream could become a reality. "Bethany," a familiar voice called. The woman looked up and smiled at Hashirama. The man had done so much for her, she was more than grateful. He smiled back, "would you come with me for a moment, I want to talk to you" he said softly, but still loud enough to be heard above the excited chatter and happy conversations among the other warriors. Bethany nodded, and turned to face Madara, "I'll be back in a minute Madara-Kun" she said as she stood up. The Uchiha nodded and watched as she walked off with her teacher.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **The two walked to Bethany's bedroom so that they could have some privacy. After closing the door and activating the silencing seals set around the room, the woman turned to her Sensei. What she didn't expect was to immediately be enveloped into a secure but gentle hug. The girl gasped, while Hashirama just closed his eyes, "Bethany-Chan, you've made me more than proud over the last five years, you truly do posses a strong will of fire" he said, his voice showing just how proud he was. Bethany was stunned for a moment, before she smiled and hugged her Sensei back, "arigato, Hashirama-Sensei, it's all thanks to you and the others that I came so far, thank you for believing in me, even when I failed" she replied, as a few tears of happiness fell from her eyes.**

 **After another minute, the Shodamine pulled back and looked his student over, "you've really grown Bethany-Chan- even if you're not much taller than you were before," he teased, causing the girl to scowl and punch him in the arm lightly. Hashirama chuckled at her expression, "even so, I'm glad to call you my student" he said with a smile. Bethany was silent for a moment until she smiled again and a single tear fell down her cheek, "thank you" she said happily. After that the two of them returned to the party, and spent time with the others. That night, Bethany had a full nights rest for the first time in a long time, while dreaming about living together with everyone and their families in their new village.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **About a week later, Bethany was going over plans for the village with Madara, while also looking forward to the official signing of the peace treaty between them and their former enemies that would occur in half a month- the time it would take to create the treaty itself, they would discuss the conditions that had been made and agree on them or suggest others that would be fair to both sides. "So, the first thing that will need to be built are houses for everyone to live in while construction is going on" Bethany said, writing that down on a notepad that she was holding. Madara nodded, "right, but we also need a place for farms so we have some food while we're getting everything sorted" he said. Bethany smiled, "good thinking, where should we put them, do you think?" she asked, holding the side of her face in her hand.**

 **"** **Well, they should defiantly be near the houses for easy access, and we need hardy plants that can thrive all year long- despite it's usefulness, we can't rely on Hashirama-Sama or you to feed us with your Mokuton forever," Madara said thoughtfully. "Right, so we'll grow the plants first, then we'll pick them and store them somewhere, after we've eaten them, we can use the seeds to plant new ones, so we'll also need a food storehouse" she said, scribbling on her notepad. "Another thing we're going to need is some place to keep the weapons and armour, aside from our own of course" Bethany said thoughtfully, to which the Uchiha nodded, "that's a good idea, besides, we wouldn't want just anyone to be able to grab a weapon, so a weapons storehouse as well," he said. The three Hokage watched the two with smiles on their face's, even Tobirama had a small smile. "What else do you think we'll need Madara-Kun?" Bethany asked. Madara thought for a moment, "well, I can't really think of anything else we'd really need to get started- I mean we can build anything else later, but that's pretty much it for now" he replied.**

 **The Senju nodded, "so, we'll plan the actual structure of the village when we've settled in and have a few more people" she said, placing the notepad in a storage seal that she had on her arm. She grinned, "and we'll build it in that forest at the bottom of the cliff, it'll be near the ocean as well, so we can catch fish for food too" Madara let out a small laugh, "heh, I'm guessing to want to turn the cliff into the new Hokage Monument" he said, causing Bethany to blush slightly, "who said I was going to call the leader Hokage?" she asked, a little flustered. Madara rolled his eyes, "oh please, what with how much you respect your teachers, we all knew that you were going to call the leader the Hokage Bethany" he said sounding bored, but with a smirk on his face. Bethany became depressed, "am I really that easy to read?" she asked. Madara's smirk became a smile, "you are to me" he said softly.**

 **The young woman looked up at him, "Madara-Kun," she said, remembering that neither of them had told the other their true feelings yet. "Madara-Kun, I have to tell you something important," she said with a serious though still slightly worried look on her face. Madara nodded, already having an idea of what she was going to say. "I- I, I love you!" she said, slightly louder than she'd intended, with a blush on her face. The black-haired boy was silent, so she continued, "I've loved you since the moment we met, I just didn't know it at the time- but slowly our relationship deepened and grew until I couldn't deny it any longer," Bethany placed her hand on his cheek, the one hidden by his fringe, "I love you Madara Uchiha, always have and always will- and I would be the happiest person in the world if you would stay with me, Madara-Kun" she whispered the last part and removed her hand, looking down to await the man's answer. "I love you too Bethany, since the day we met, I've thought you were beautiful, but also kind, caring, strong, determined and not afraid to stand up for what's right and protect the people precious to you, I love you now and forever- and** ** _I_** **would be the happiest person in the world if you would be my one and only" he too, whispered the last part.**

 **Bethany's eyes were shining both with happiness and with unshed tears of joy. "Yes, yes, yes!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him on the lips. Madara had to catch the girl as she was smaller than him, but he didn't mind, he was just glad that the girl he loved loved him back. Meanwhile, Hashirama, Tobirama and Minato all had their own reactions. Hashirama was crying loudly at the 'beautiful scene', Tobirama had his eyes closed with a small smile of happiness for his student and Minato was just happy that they got to be together. Soon enough though, the white-haired Hokage got sick of his older brothers over-enthusiastic emotions, "will you just cut it out already Anija!" he growled in annoyance. This caused Hashirama to slouch over in a state of depression. "I'm just happy that they can be together, what's wrong with that?" he moaned. "It's annoying, that's what wrong with it!" Tobirama snapped.**

 **And so, Bethany and Madara went on happily discussing different things for the rest of the day, knowing that when the treaty was signed, things would begin changing for the better.**


	12. Chapter 12

**It was now time to sign the peace treaty between the Chakra users- that's what they decided to call themselves until their village was built- and the government that they had been fighting against for six years. It had been decided that Hashirama would go with Bethany as support just in case things went bad, as she most defiantly wouldn't need a guard, while the rest stayed back at the hideout to, basically: 'hold down the fort' as they say. Everyone waved enthusiastically to their leader, "bye Bethany-Taicho!" "have a safe trip!" "take care Nee-Sama!" these were just some of the things that were called out in farewell to her. Bethany smiled and waved back, dressed in a special outfit that she'd been given a short while ago:**

 ** _*Flashback* Bethany had been relaxing with her teachers, glad that the fighting had ended, when Makoto and a few other girls had come up to her, holding something that was wrapped in brown paper, "Nee-Sama, thank you for keeping your promise" Makoto said with a smile. Bethany smiled back, "it was no problem guys, it was what I was going to do all along, so promising you that I would put an end to the war was really just my way of assuring myself that I_** **was** ** _going to do it" she replied happily. The girls all smiled, and the Hyuuga held the wrapped object out to her, "this is for you Taicho, it's to show how grateful we all are, besides-" she winked at her, "you are going to be our Hokage, aren't you?" she asked, with a slightly sly look on her face. The brown-haired girl blushed slightly, while her Sensei either smirked, smiled or chuckled._**

 ** _Bethany took the parcel into her room and opened it. When she had, she gasped at what she saw. 'The four of them made this by themselves?' she thought in slight awe. When she'd gotten changed, the woman went back out to show her teachers and fellows. When they saw her, everyone gasped. Bethany was wearing a full length white and red gown, the top part being white, the bottom being red that fell to just above her feet in length with a white haori over the top of it. Her long hair fell to her waist while around her forehead she had a red headband that had the Senju crest on it. The woman scratched the back of her head, while laughing slightly "I think you guys have too much time on your hands now that the war's over" she said. The girls all shook their heads, "no, it looks good on you Taicho, I'm glad we got the size and length right" one of them said. Bethany smiled, "arigato, I'll be sure to wear this when the village is built, okay?" she asked, grinning._**

 ** _The girls nodded and ran off, "you're welcome!" one of them called back happily._** **** ** _*Flashback end*_**

 **She was currently wearing these clothes along with the headband with her family crest as she walked away from their hideout, Hashirama Sensei walking quietly by her side. The man smiled, "so, it's finally time is it?" he asked gently. Bethany giggled, "yep, and now not only can I keep my promise to the others, I can also keep my promise to Akito too" she said happily. After that they walked in a comfortable silence through the forest. Hashirama breathed deeply and looked around, "it's a beautiful day" he said quietly, as the sun shone down on them and the leaves rustled gently as though agreeing. Bethany nodded, "a perfect day for peace, it won't be long now" she said happily.**

 **A few minutes later they came upon the leaders that Madara had caught before. They frowned slightly at Hashirama, "who's this, Bethany-San?" one of them asked. Bethany smiled disarmingly, "he's my Sensei, and the others insisted I bring him with me as a bodyguard today" she explained as they all sat down at the small table that had been set up. Another nodded in understanding, before taking out a blank piece of paper and a pen, "alright, shall we get this over with so we can finally all go back to our lives?" he asked. Bethany and Hashirama nodded, a serious look was now present on both their faces. "Now, the things that I would like are not many in number, but they are crucial, 1. You will allow us to live peacefully, as that is all we ourselves want, 2. You don't attack us and understand that we have our own secrets as people, 3. Understand that if this succeeds, we will** ** _only_** **fight back if our new home, or our families, including our comrades are threatened or hurt purposefully, 4. If this does happen, we will fight to protect them and 5. Any children that you still have in your** ** _care_** **are to be handed over to me so that I can deal with them, as it's very much inhuman to have them live with the knowledge that they are no longer what they were" she said, explaining her conditions.**

 **The men spoke among themselves quietly for a moment, before turning back to face Bethany and Hashirama again, "most of your terms are agreeable, and we understand that we may have gone out of line with how we trained the children we- um, recruited," he paused for a moment to take a breath, and Bethany had to force herself not to explode at the mention of the words** ** _trained_** **and** ** _recruited_** **, knowing what they really meant, "but you must admit that to just** ** _give_** **you the children that we have under our care would not be very wise on our part," he sighed, "while I know that it's not very likely, say that one of your people went insane for one reason or another and you were unable to stop him- we've seen the kind of powers that you all possess many times now, and if even one person with your power were to attack, say Brisbane, how many more lives do you think would be lost than what you have? Those people are civilians, and if someone with this, C** ** _hakra_** **power, lost control of themselves, the destruction and death could be enormous, which is why we need people with the same abilities that can combat them to protect the innocents, isn't that a lot like what you yourself are trying to do?" he asked.**

 **Bethany sighed, that** ** _did_** **make sense, but- "while I understand your plight, I'm afraid your training methods are unsuitable for those who possess Chakra under your command, for one thing, people, especially children need their emotions, trust me it makes them much better as people and as fighters if they have people who are precious that they want to protect, another thing, try treating them with kindness, encourage them like you would any child, praise them when they do good, while Shinobi are human tools, we** ** _are_** **also human as well, and we need to treated as such, understand?" she asked. Everyone nodded and Bethany sighed, "as for those who have already lost their humanity, it would be best for them if they were reintroduced to these concepts slowly, maybe they could reclaim what they've lost, have them put through counselling, get them reintroduced to the world a little at a time" she explained. The men nodded, "alright, that sounds fair, is that everything?" one asked.**

 **Bethany nodded, "yes, I think so," she replied. "Alright, let's see, your conditions are as follows: 1. You will allow us to live peacefully, 2. You don't attack us and understand that we have our own secrets as people, 3. Understand that we will** ** _only_** **attack you if our new home, or our families, including our comrades are threatened or hurt purposefully, 4. If this does happen, we will fight to protect them, 5, you are allowed to keep the children you recruited as long as you try to return the children to their own mindset, treat the newer ones with kindness and teach them to protect the innocent as though they were precious to them, is that about right?" he asked. Bethany nodded, "well, almost, you shouldn't try to force someone to see another as precious to them, allow them to make bonds with these people, friends, sibling-like relationships even, it'll be better in the long run for them, trust me" she replied with a smile. They then all signed their names on the paper, showing its authenticity. The leaders nodded and stood up, followed by Bethany and Hashirama.**

 **"** **I hope the next time we meet it will be as comrades fighting to protect those most precious to us" the young woman said, taking the main leaders hand. He nodded, "I hope so too, good luck, and I'm sorry for everything we've done to you" he said sadly. Bethany shook her head, a small smile on her face, "there's no need to apologise, we were both working towards the same goal of keeping our people safe, though we had conflicting opinions on how to do that- but now we don't have to worry about that anymore, and I truly hope we can become comrades one day" she replied as they shook hands, showing their agreement. Bethany beamed so happily and brightly that the other men had to follow. Hashirama watched it all happen with a smile on his face.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **When the two returned to the hideout with big grins on their faces, everyone, both young adult and child cheered wildly. This time their celebrations lasted for weeks and the atmosphere was brighter than before, so much so that no one could be sad for either the weeks that they celebrated or the days after. It was truly a wondrous time and even Tobirama couldn't help but join the fun. The relief and joy was almost tangible in the air and Bethany was glad that they had almost succeeded in completing their dream. Now all that was left was to actually build the village and invite all the family members of the chakra users who had survived the war and of those who hadn't as well as any children or people who had chakra that were still out there to come and live in the village. Their home.** ** _'Soon,'_** **she thought with a smile,** ** _'very soon'_** **.**

 **Currently Madara and Bethany were on top of the cliff that would become the Hokage mountain and drawing out blue-prints of the village. Madara was drawing them while Bethany described what she envisioned with Madara adding his own suggestions here and there. They were both lying on their stomachs facing each other. Bethany had found that her now-boyfriend was better at drawing things from his head than she was, as long as they were explained to him in detail. "So the orchard will go here while the houses are built nearby- that reminds me, some of the children are too old physically and or mentally to live with their parents so they'll need their own houses- also, do you think it would be a good idea to have a civilian section of the village and a Shinobi or warriors section, or just have it as one big residential district?" Bethany asked, looking up at her companion. Madara thought for a moment, "I think they should be separate, but having the Shinobi section too far away from the civilians would be a bad idea, it would be easier for them to remember what they are protecting if they live close by the civilians, but I also think having a separate district for the older Shinobi would be a good idea, that way they could practice with their jutsu and weapons without accidently harming anyone" he explained.**

 **Bethany nodded and the Uchiha added that into the layout of the village. "Also, since people have begun developing bloodlines and clan jutsu, such as your Sharingan and Makoto-Chan's Byakugan, we should think about building some clan compounds so that the secrets of the clans don't become too widespread" she suggested. Madara hummed thoughtfully, "that might be a good idea, while at the same time, it could be very bad" he replied. Bethany cocked an eyebrow, "how so?" she asked curiously. The Uchiha looked up from the blueprint at her, "well, you remember what the Uchiha Clan from Naruto did- if they are too far away from the village the clans might think you are trying to cut them off, that and it would be hard for you to keep an eye on them so that coup 'de' ta's don't happen" he explained. Bethany thought for a moment, "hmm, I guess you're right, but 1. there aren't any real clans yet aside from the Uchiha and 2. It would take a while for the clans themselves to be built up, especially with the bloodlines, for example, if you wanted to make a lot of children with Sharingan, you and I would have to get busy" she said with a seductive wink.**

 **Madara laughed outright at that for a minute, before he calmed down, "so, what you are saying is that we should hold off on building clan compounds until there are actually** ** _clans_** **to populate them?" he asked, causing the brunette to nod. The Uchiha thought for a moment before he nodded, "I guess that makes sense, now, what about shops?"**


	13. Chapter 13

**It had been about a month since the war had ended, and now they were getting started on building the village. As Bethany had suggested, they only built houses first, along with a food supply house and an orchid. A path had been constructed down to the ocean so that they could fish and relax. The village was right in front of the cliff/mountain that would later be made into the Hokage Monument. The buildings were made with either the wood from the trees that had been cut down to make the path, or Hashirama's wood style. He was currently in the process of teaching his student the Mokuton: Four Pillar House jutsu so that she could assist in the building. After watching her teacher do it, Bethany attempted the jutsu herself. She slowly and carefully formed the Snake, Rat, Ox, Ram and Snake hand signs then called out the name of the jutsu: "Mokuton: Four Pillar House jutsu!" she cried, as the wood sprouted from the ground.**

 **It wasn't very much like a house unfortunately- more like a mutated clump of wood that actually looked vaguely human shaped. Hashirama looked slightly torn between being horrified and laughing at the mutated human-house that his student had created. Bethany gaped, "what the hell is that, I try to make a house and it looks like some kind of freaky- thing?!" she asked in shock, shuddering slightly at her 'creation'. This time Hashirama couldn't hold back and he burst out laughing. Bethany glared at her teacher slightly, "it's not funny Sensei, no one can live in that thing!" she exclaimed, with a slight pout on her face. The Shodamine slowly calmed down, "okay, now as far as I can tell the problem here is Chakra control- the Four Pillar House jutsu takes a good amount of control to create a usable house, so what we are going to do now is refine your water-walking" he explained, causing Bethany to nod. The two went down to the river to train, with Bethany being eager as always.**

 **The Shodamine turned to her, "alright Bethany-Chan, now I know you've already mastered water-walking to a degree, but if you can refine it, you will get a finer control of your Chakra and that should help you master this jutsu easier, understand?" he asked. The woman nodded, determination shining in her eyes. She had mastered everything else her teachers had thrown at her, and while she knew that walking on moving water would be harder than walking on still water would be, she was determined to get it right. Bethany focused her Chakra to her feet, which she could now do without hand signs and made sure that it was a little more than normal water walking to keep her balance on the faster moving water. Thankfully to accommodate for what she had been doing that day, the brown-haired woman was wearing some casual clothes that she didn't mind getting dirty or wet.**

 **Taking a deep breath, Bethany stepped out onto the water. She wobbled for a moment until she got her balance back and breathed a sigh of relief. Slowly taking baby steps, the girl made her way across the stream. She walked slowly with gritted teeth. Carefully and painstakingly slowly she made it to the other side of the river. Bethany grinned when she'd stepped back onto dry land and whooped for joy- she hadn't fallen in once! Turning back, she saw Hashirama grin at her, and she grinned back. Her relationship with the First Hokage was something special to her. It wasn't quite like a father-daughter relationship, and it wasn't boyfriend and girlfriend- no, Madara-Kun was the only one for her in that regard. She supposed it was more like- siblings than anything else. She saw Hashirama as the awesome and amazing older brother she'd never had, and the girl sometimes wondered if he saw her as a little sister.**

 **After making her way back across the river with no incidents, Bethany beamed at her teacher, "I did it Hashirama Sensei!" she exclaimed happily. The Shodamine ruffled her hair, "well done, I knew you could do it!" he said proudly, causing the girl to blush slightly. Even after five years, she still wasn't used to being praised by the strongest man in existence since the Sage of the Six Paths two sons. Even so, it made her happy to know that he was proud of her achievements even though he could do this stuff for years. Though she knew that, as Asura's transmigration, her teacher was most likely a talentless late bloomer himself, like Naruto had been, and she herself was, he was so powerful now that she was grateful for any praise she got from the man, and it always made her humble and proud of herself at the same time. After trying the water-walking exercise for a while longer, Bethany went back to practicing her jutsu. "Mokuton: Four Pillar House Jutsu!" she exclaimed after forming the hand signs. This time, she was able to create the rough configuration of a house.**

 **The girl cheered, "yes, I'm getting there- it doesn't look like a mutated human-house!" she cried, fist-pumping the air. Hashirama chuckled slightly, "good job Bethany-Chan," he said happily, "but you still have a long way to go- do you have enough Chakra to keep training?" he asked. Bethany turned to him and grinned, "you bet I do, I'm going to master this then help build the village!" she said determinedly. The Shodamine smiled, "alright then, let's keep practicing" he replied.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Bethany was walking through what was going to be her village, watching the building going on and waving to the others. This time, there was genuine happiness in the air, despite how much work they all had to do. The young adults, teenagers, pre-teens and even the children were happy to help with the building, knowing that once they finished, this was going to be their home. Some of the younger children, the ones who hadn't been outside for very long and not on a battlefield for as long as they could remember were exploring everything with a sense of wonder and joy on their young faces. Bethany smiled at that, glad that they could still be children even after everything they'd been through in the last few years. It was nice to see everyone so relaxed and happy now that they no longer had the threat of dying in war to weigh them down. They all seemed much more cheerful too and for that Bethany was glad. This was the reason she came up with this dream, so that the people like her, like them would no longer have to suffer the way they had suffered for the last six years, so they could all be free and happy and so that the next generation didn't have to know war.**

 **And now, thanks to everyone who believed in her, supported her and helped her to become stronger, that dream was becoming a reality. And she couldn't be more thankful. It was more beautiful than anything she had imagined, and she hoped that this peace would last for a long time. The woman waved back at the people who waved at her, all with genuine smiles on their faces. It was truly amazing. Suddenly, Bethany saw Madara walking around a corner. He was dressed in his casual clothes and seemed to be taking a leisurely walk through the village. The young man spotted her and smiled as the young woman smiled back.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **The two were standing and looking down at their home from the top of the cliff. Bethany breathed in deeply and sighed in contentment, "you know, looking at us now, it's hard to believe that just a few months ago, we were both fighting in a bloody war that seemed to have no end" she said quietly. Madara chuckled, "are you saying you want to go back to what you're used to?" he asked. Bethany aimed a glare at her boyfriend, "don't even joke about that Madara, I wouldn't want to lose this for the world" she replied, looking out over her home. The Uchiha turned his head to follow her gaze, "you know," he said softly, "we still have to name it" he commented. They watched the leaves blowing in the wind for a moment, "how about we name it after the one from Naruto? I mean, we've already 'borrowed' Hokage from there, right?" Madara suggested.**

 **Unknown to them, Hashirama was once again watching the two while hidden among the foliage. He chuckled silently at the joke. They were contemplating naming this village after his own, 'hidden in the tree leaves' village and that was exactly what he was doing right now. "So you want to name it Konoha? isn't that plagiarism?" Bethany asked, while raising one eyebrow. The young man shrugged, "like I said, we've already borrowed 'Hokage' from Naruto, haven't we? Besides, it would defiantly be easier to remember, and it fits, doesn't it?" he asked. Bethany looked at her home again, noting all the trees and the leaves being blown by the wind. She chuckled, "yeah, I guess it does" she replied with a smile. Madara grinned, "so then, Konohagakure it is". Bethany grinned back and laid her head on her boyfriends shoulder, "I love you Madara-Kun" she said softly. The boy smiled and wrapped his arm around her back, holding onto her other shoulder and bringing her closer to him, "I love you too Bethany-Chan" he replied, just as softly.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Soon, enough of the village had been built that they could begin to invite their family members to their new home. Bethany sat in her newly constructed office, which was really just a bare wooden room with a large window at the front, or rather the back of the room, depending on your perspective. A large wooden desk sat in the center with a few wooden chairs around the room. The desk was simple enough, plain wood with multiple draws. Currently Bethany was sitting at her desk and trying to write laws for her village. It was boring as hell. Now she understood why paperwork was the bane of all Kage. And she thought schoolwork and homework was bad- this was ten times worse! She was about ready to rip her hair out or bash her head against her desk, or something! She was sure she was going to go insane pretty soon, that or she was going to go stir crazy.**

 **Seriously- fighting in the war was better than this! Suddenly the door opened and Hashirama walked in, causing Bethany to smile crazily, "oh thank god you're here- you gotta help, the papers are trying to eat me!" she exclaimed, running over to her teacher and gripping his arms, just below the shoulders. The man smiled, "It's not that bad Bethany" he replied, laughing slightly at the look on her face. Bethany walked back to her desk like a zombie, "'not that bad' he says, he never had to do school work and homework all day" she muttered as she sat down. Unfortunately at the exact moment she sat down, one of the young adults that she'd temporarily assigned as her secretary came in carrying- you guessed it, another stack of papers up to her head, "Hokage-Sama-" but that was as far as the woman got before Bethany saw the new stack of work, panicked and tripped on her seat, pushing it back and falling onto the ground.**

 **Unfortunately, her fall knocked the desk, unbalancing the paperwork already stacked their and everything came tumbling down on top of her. "Gah!" she cried, "save me, I'm being buried alive!" she wailed, falling backwards as sheets of paper covered her from head to toe. "Hokage-Sama!" the secretary exclaimed as she and Hashirama rushed over to the girl, the woman placing the papers down on the now mostly free desk and looking around behind it to check on the state of her leader. Bethany was lying on her back with her legs spread apart, sheets of paper covering her entire body except for her head, and anime swirly-eyes as she stared up at the ceiling. Both Hashirama and the secretary sweat-dropped at this. The brown-haired man laughed, "well, at least now Bethany-Chan can call herself a true Hokage- after all, we've all braved the horrors of war and paperwork!" he stated and laughed again. After he'd calmed down, he helped his student up and back on to her chair. Bethany just stared at the mess of papers miserably, "now I have to clean this up and re-organise everything as well as do more work-" she began crying anime tears, "why me?" she whined, getting depressed again.**

 **Hashirama looked thoughtful, "Bethany-Chan, would you like me to teach you a jutsu that might help you with this?" he asked. Bethany looked up at him with sparkly eyes, like when he'd first offered to train her, although now she looked at him like he was god's gift to the world, "really!?" she exclaimed. The man nodded, causing Bethany to whoop in joy. She then practically dragged him out of the office, "ah, Hokage-Sama, what about all this work?" the secretary called after her. "I'll do it when I've mastered this jutsu!" she called back, her voice was very faint. The woman sighed and looked at the paper that was still strewn about everywhere. She began to collect the paperwork and replace it on her leader's desk. The Hokage would just have to reorganize it later. She grinned darkly, well, at least she could get her revenge on her leader for not doing her work. Anyone walking past the Hokage office at that moment could hear evil laughter echoing from inside it.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Bethany stood in front of her Sensei, ready to learn the jutsu, "alright Bethany-Chan, you'll need your scroll, as this is another Wood Style jutsu" he explained. Bethany nodded and focused Chakra through a seal in her arm. She had seals for her armour, Flying Thunder God kunai and the Forbidden Scroll that she had created, all on her arm for easy access. She had damaged her sword beyond repair recently, so she didn't have that anymore, but she no longer needed it. Tai-Jutsu, Nin-Jutsu and Shuriken-Jutsu were more than enough for the moment. As the Chakra flowed through the seal, the Scroll with all of her Wood style jutsu, original or pre-created popped out. Bethany unfurled the scroll and took out her brush and ink. She then looked up at her teacher expectantly.**

 **She had already added the Four Pillar House Jutsu and was now ready to add this new one and start practicing with it. "The jutsu is the Wood Clone Jutsu, and it basically creates copies of the original caster made out of wood. The hand signs are Tiger, Dog and Snake, also it is much more durable than a regular clone and can relay information to the creator without having to dispel" he explained. Bethany grinned as she wrote down all the information- she already liked this jutsu. "One of the weaknesses is that the clones power is only as strong as the amount of Chakra you focus on it, so if you didn't use a lot of Chakra, yes the clone might still form, but that doesn't mean that it's fighting strength would be very good" he explained. The woman wrote everything down diligently, "now," Hashirama grinned, "are you ready to learn the jutsu that could free you from paperwork, Bethany-Chan?" the girl's eyes said everything,** ** _'teach me!'_** **they seemed to demand.**

 **"** **Alright," the man replied, "now, why don't you try it".**


	14. Chapter 14

**It had actually been fairly easy to master the Wood Clone jutsu, and the girl went back to work almost** ** _happily_** **with an evil grin on her face,** ** _'now I will smite you, you papers of hell!'_** **she thought, cackling madly in her head. Hashirama snickered from where he was walking beside her and the young woman blushed when she realized she'd said that out loud. "Well I will" she said vehemently, while her teacher just grinned, "I know you will Bethany-Chan" he replied lightly, still grinning in amusement. Once they'd gotten back to Bethany's office, she opened the door and gasped. Someone, most likely the secretary had picked everything up off the floor. While she was thankful for that, she noticed one thing that dampened her possibly good mood**

 **All the papers were stacked into one pile again, which meant she would have to go through the** ** _whole pile_** **again. She deflated a little, but looked at the work determinedly. She formed the hand signs for her new jutsu, "Mokuton: Wood Clone Jutsu!" she cried, and four clones sprouted into existence from her body. "Okay everyone, you know what to do, grab a stack of papers and lets finish this hell spawn once and for all!" she exclaimed. The clones all fist-pumped the air: "yeah!" they cheered. Due to their cheering they didn't hear the girl mutter darkly: "at least until tomorrow anyway" under her breath. Hashirama watched as the group of five grabbed papers and began to sort through and fill the forms out while sitting anywhere they could find space. The brown-haired man nodded, "well, I can see you've got everything under control now, and I promised Tobirama that I'd train with him today, so-" he cut himself off as he vanished in a Hidden Leaf Shushin. Bethany, though, was too busy grinning madly while she and her clones tore through the work that had tormented her so just a few hours ago.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Minato was walking around the village that his student had built, admiring her work. Granted it wasn't as big as it probably would be in a few years, but it was defiantly bigger than what it was just a few months ago. He wondered what the girl was doing right now. Suddenly he saw something coming towards him. The blond blinked before he recognised Paul Middleton, Bethany's father. And by the look on his face and the way he was stomping, he was pissed. Minato, despite usually being good with people, wondered if he should confront the man or just run like hell. Unfortunately, his moment of indecisiveness delayed him a second too long, for it was then that Paul spotted him. The man bared his teeth in rage and shot towards him, with speed that impressed even him, the legendary Yellow Flash of the Leaf Village.**

 **"** **You!" he hissed, stopping in front the man and grabbing the collar of his coat. Paul pulled him in close to his face, and Minato could honestly say that he hadn't been this afraid since that time during the war when he'd suggested that Bethany had been really tense, and she'd snapped and gotten seriously scary. Well it looked like she'd gotten that from her father, "it's been five years- five** **bloody** **years since I last heard from any of you, then I find out that Bethany was fighting in a damn war, and now I don't hear anything! So I have one thing to ask you-" he paused and killing intent strong enough to choke the Ichibi rolled off him in waves, "where-the-hell-is-my-daughter?" he asked in a dangerously low voice, while his eyes became shards of ice and a freezing wind seemed to emanate from him- a direct contrast to his daughters killing intent, Minato absently noted.**

 **He gulped, "h-how about I take you to her and you don't kill me?" he asked in a quivering voice.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Bethany had just finished all her paperwork for the day- and damn did it feel good! She had no idea how anyone could do this day in and day out without solid clones of some kind and** ** _not_** **go completely crazy. She smiled while stretching her stiff arms above her head and sighed contentedly.** ** _'Thank god for whoever invented solid clones'_** **she thought with a satisfied grin. Suddenly something entered her sensory range that made her cringe back against her chair. Or should she say someone. She could hear stomping sounds outside her office now, and since she knew there was nothing she could do about it, Bethany decided to just endure the problems she was about to face. The stomping ceased for a moment, and everything was completely silent before- *SLAM!* the door to her office burst open and a torrent of killing intent flew through the room.**

 **After fighting in the war, the woman was mostly immune to the effects of killing intent, and when she wasn't she could just let out her own to counter it, that or use her Mokuton chakra, as they had discovered the calming effects of her chakra could block or overcome the fear induced by KI. But even her Chakra wasn't enough to shield her completely from** ** _this_** **KI. "BETHANY MIDDLETON!" the shout echoed around the whole village and was enough to cause even the older war-veterans to pause in their tracks and send up a prayer for their Hokage. Meanwhile in her office, Bethany was trying her hardest to keep calm in the face of her father's rage. "Where the hell have you been?! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!" Paul demanded, glaring at his daughter, who sat ramrod straight in the chair. "I thought you were dead and then I find out you're alive, but you are fighting in a ****ing war! I don't hear from you for years, for all I know you could really be dead this time, then I hear that you've gone off and built a whole damn village WITHOUT EVEN SENDING ME A SINGLE BLOODY LETTER! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU BETHANY!" he screamed.**

 **Well, he was very upset. Who wouldn't be after hearing nothing from your only child for five years, then finding out she was fighting in a war that she could have possibly been killed during. So yeah, she didn't blame him for being upset. Just then, Hashirama, Tobirama and Madara warped into the office courtesy of the Flying Thunder God Kunai she had placed their when it had been built. "Ah, hey guys" she said nervously, "oh no, don't you try to change the subject, you** ** _need_** **to be punished for this," her father grabbed her wrist and pulled her down so she was lying on his lap face down. Suddenly realising what her father was going to do, Bethany panicked and tried to form the hand signs for the Flying Thunder God jutsu so she could escape, but Paul grabbed her wrists and held them so she couldn't form hand signs. "Oh god no! not this, please not in front of everyone!" she begged, desperately trying to wriggle away. It wasn't the pain she was afraid of. No she could deal with pain after everything she had gone through during the war.**

 **It was the utter humiliation she knew she would face- she was one of the strongest people in the world, and now she was going to be smacked like a child by her father in front of everyone. He pulled up her robes, "please no!" she begged as he raised his hand. *Smack!* *smack!* *smack!* *smack!* over and over again the pain came, causing tears to form in the woman's eyes. But the pain in her bum was the least of her worries. She was facing her teachers and boyfriend and they were all sniggering or laughing at her- even Madara was laughing. Her cheeks glowed red as she endured her punishment for 20 minutes before Paul finally released her. The girl jumped up and quickly pulled her robe down, running and hiding behind her desk as everyone's eyes were focused on her. "I hope you learned your lesson Bethany" her father said darkly.**

 **The girl just hid her face in her hands and nodded mutely.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **After finally calming down enough for normal speech, Bethany and her Sensei's explained what had happened over the last five years, from their joining the war to Bethany's meeting of Madara, to Akito's death and Bethany's subsequent rise to the position of leader. They then explained the next five years, with her training, fighting in the war, becoming closer to Madara, the two of them becoming the strongest chakra users in the whole war aside from Hashirama, the final battle with the government and Yue's attack on Bethany and his death by her hands. They explained how peace had been achieved afterwards with the treaty signing and how they had all begun to build Bethany and Madara's dream village, and how she took up the position of 'Hokage' by the insistence of the others. By the time the story was finished, it was beginning to get late.**

 **Paul sat on his chair in a stunned silence. He honestly didn't know what think. "Wow" was all he could bring himself to say over and over again. Bethany looked down, "I really am sorry for not contacting you before- I was just so busy with everything that I didn't have any time, also I didn't even know if you were still free or had been captured and I was too afraid of finding that out honestly," she looked her father in the eye, truly remorseful for worrying him so much. He must have been terrified out of his mind when she just seemed to disappear off the face of the earth. The man looked at his daughter- now a young woman and he smiled slightly, "I always told you that you'd be beautiful Bethany" he said, glowing with pride at all his daughter had accomplished. Bethany hesitated, "so, you're not angry at me anymore?" she hedged. Paul shook his head and closed his eyes, "no, I'm still angry at you, but I think I can let it slide just this once- after all, you've been through far too much already, you don't need me punishing you as well" he said sadly.**

 **Bethany also became sad at the mention of the past. Actually, she'd been sad this whole time, but had refused to let it show. She had to be strong for her people, and besides- that part of her life was over now. The man smiled, "so, boyfriend huh?" he asked, turning to Madara, causing Bethany to blush fiercely, while the Uchiha just bowed his head. Paul frowned, looking at the young man, "since you've helped Bethany so much over the past few years and the two of you seem to genuinely care about each other, I won't try to separate you," he then glared at the Uchiha, causing even him to gulp, "but if I find out you hurt my daughter, even once, there will be hell to pay- got it?" he asked, the threat hanging in the air. Madara nodded, and Paul's glare disappeared as if it wasn't even there, "good, I hope we can all get along" he said, smiling happily while Madara shivered slightly.**

 **Everyone sweat-dropped at the sudden change in demeanour, except for Tobirama who was used to it from his brother. Bethany suddenly looked up, "oh yes, that reminds me-" she glared fiercely at everyone in the room, her own killing intent pouring out of her and the flames appearing in her eyes and behind her, "** ** _not a word about what happened here today to anyone- got that?!"_** **she demanded in a hiss, daring anyone to say a word. They all nodded hurriedly, even Paul, who'd just exerted his own killing intent trembled before the amount his daughter was exuding. In an instant it was gone and she smiled brightly, "good, now, let's get home, I'm exhausted" she sighed, ready to take a long sleep after a long day.**

 **Everyone nodded, before Paul had a thought, "wait, which houses are ours, and where am I going to live?" he asked. Bethany cocked her head to the side, "well, Hashirama Sensei and I have already built temporary houses for everyone until more people start arriving and then we'll start building proper homes for them. After all, it's a bit hard to build a house for a family if you don't know anything about said family, but we can build you a house as well" she explained to her father as he nodded his head, "alright, that sounds good for now- thank you Bethany, ah, I mean Hokage-Sama" he said with a small smile. Bethany grinned, "you're family and my father, please, just call me Bethany" she replied. After that everyone soon left the office with the young woman locking it on the way out.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **That night Bethany slept deeply, thinking about everything that had happened. She had planned to bring her father to her new village once everything had settled down, but the man had beaten her to it and had shown up on his own. Well, at least that was one thing she didn't have to worry about later. The girl then rolled over and continued sleeping. Tomorrow was another big day.**


	15. Chapter 15

**The next morning, Bethany woke up at the crack of dawn. It was an annoying habit that her sensei's had, and was something that had been forced upon her during the war. Now, after five years of the same routine, she couldn't sleep in even if she wanted to- which she did. Well, she could sleep in, but only if she was completely exhausted, like after fighting all day long, and being physically and mentally exhausted. She sighed and got up, yawning deeply as she stretched and headed off to her shower. After a nice long soak to wake herself up, she got dressed and headed out into the kitchen to make breakfast, which was fruit. As she ate, she thought about what she had going on today, which was- joy, more paperwork. Bethany sighed, then grinned. Well at least she had the object of their demise in her hands.**

 **The woman cackled evilly, Wood Clone jutsu, here she comes.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Bethany happily waved to the familiar faces in the village as she walked passed on her way to her office. It was so nice to see everyone smiling after so long of nothing but sadness and pain. It was a beautiful Spring day and the very atmosphere seemed to reflect the joy she felt. Everything was good and beautiful in her home. Yes it was very- "Bethany-Chan!" she paused when she heard the voice. As she turned, she saw Madara walking towards her, a soft smile on his face. Bethany smiled back, "Madara-Kun, good morning" she said happily. They gave each other a small kiss and continued walking together.**

 **The Uchiha turned to face her, "so, are you ready to face the hell spawn again?" he asked teasingly. Bethany grimaced in determination, "yes, I refuse to be beaten this time, not when I know the secret" she said seriously, causing Madara to laugh loudly. A few people on the streets looked over at them curiously, but they all knew about their leader's relationship with the Uchiha by now so many of them just brushed it off as the two being themselves. As they walked together through the streets, the black-haired boy looked around with a small smile, "I'm glad things are finally stabilizing now, we should be a full village in a few years time" he commented quietly. Bethany nodded happily, "yep, and I wonder just how big the village is going to get?' she said thoughtfully. As they neared Bethany's office, the woman sighed, "well, I guess I'd better get to work now" she said. Madara smiled softly and bent down to kiss his girlfriend on the cheek, "I'll pick you up for lunch?" he asked softly.**

 **The brown-haired girl smiled and nodded happily. Madara waved goodbye as he walked away to do his own thing, while Bethany walked into the building. She sighed as she had really wanted to spend more time with Madara-Kun, but the idea of him coming to take her out to lunch was something that caused her to blush and smile happily. He was going to take her out on a date! Her first date! Bethany smiled as she daydreamed about the coming lunch with the boy she loved. As she walked into her office, the girl sweat-dropped as she saw a pile of paperwork already sitting on her desk.** ** _'Where the heck did that come from?'_** **she wondered, not knowing anyone who would wake up so early just to drop off paperwork. Sighing despondently, the girl decided to just get it over and done with as fast as possible. After sitting down at her desk, Bethany took the first piece of paper off the top of the pile. Her eyes scanned the page,** ** _'hmm, a contract licence for permission to set up a Ramen stand in the village'_** **Bethany grinned.**

 **She loved Japanese food and ramen in particular was one of her favourites. Bethany nodded and signed her approval at the bottom of the page. Placing the paper down, she picked up the next one and looked it over,** ** _'this one's a request by an elderly couple whose granddaughter is one of the chakra users,'_** **she scanned the page in interest,** ** _'according to this, they want to come and live in the village and run a library- well, library's are always good, I've always liked them'_** **she thought. Signing her name again, the girl placed it on the pile with the restaurant request,** ** _'approved,'_** **this went on for a few hours and she actually thought that she might get finished by lunch without using her secret paperwork eliminating technique- she giggled at the thought of the name she had come up with for using her Wood Clones, when suddenly the door opened and the secretary walked in with an armful of papers. Bethany's head slammed down on the desk as she wept openly. Why did life torment her so- why? The woman placed the stack down on the desk then left.**

 **The brown-haired Hokage growled, lifting her head off the table with an annoyed expression on her face, "alright hell spawn, prepare to meet your doom!" she cried, forming the Dog, Tiger and Snake hand signs, "Mokuton: Wood Clone Jutsu!" several clones made out of wood sprouted from her body and set to work on the paperwork, all the while, Bethany cackled evilly. Several passerby's looked to their Hokage's office as the demonic sound was heard all throughout the village once again, and they all shivered uneasily.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **She had done it, the paperwork was all completed with one minute to spare. Bethany fist-pumped the air as she danced around the room. Stopping, the woman quickly checked her appearance in the mirror that was in her office bathroom. She gave her hair a quick brush and nodded. Just then a knock was heard at the door. Bethany grinned, "coming!" she called. She knew it was Madara as she could sense his Chakra. Bethany opened the door with a smile on her face, while the Uchiha smiled back. He was dressed in his casual clothes as they didn't really have much in terms of possessions yet. "Hey Bethany-Chan, are you ready?" he asked. The woman nodded, "hai, let's go" she replied happily. Then she closed the door and walked down the hall hand in hand with her boyfriend.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **The Uchiha led her through the streets, while they talked quietly about different things. Bethany smiled. She was happy with Madara, far happier than she'd ever been before. She felt like she was accepted fully by this person- this person who'd told her that he** ** _loved_** **her. Madara was everything to her. When she was fighting in the war, he was her escape from her dark thoughts of the future and the horrible actions she'd been forced to perform all for the sake of their futures. When she'd felt overwhelmed by guilt, yes, Hashirama-Sensei had been there, but it was Madara who had truly convinced her that she wasn't a horrible person. He had been the first person she told about her dream, and the first person to say that he would stand beside her on the long path to achieving it.**

 **He was a person like her, who fought when he didn't want to fight, protected those who couldn't protect themselves and never gave up on his convictions or those he believed in. Yes, Bethany would admit it whole-heartedly- she loved Madara Uchiha. He was everything to her, and although she loved her village, she knew that it would feel empty without Madara-Kun in it. She looked over at him. The young man was walking at a slightly fast but still relaxed pace, and smiling as he led them to the restaurant where they would be eating. When they got there, Bethany looked around. It was a small place but it had a homely and comforting feel to it and she immediately found that she liked it. A waitress came up to them, "oh, Hokage-Sama, Madara-Sama, welcome, let me show you to your table" she said with a smile and a slight blush at Madara. Bethany saw this, and while she didn't particularly hate the girl for the attention she was giving the young man, as she had to agree he was very handsome- it still caused her to pout at the thought of another woman taking her boyfriend away. The woman led them to a table for two and they both sat down.**

 **Madara noticed the look his girlfriend was giving them, but he continued to talk to the waitress for a moment, before she left to fix up their orders. The Uchiha turned back to face her with a smirk, "what's wrong Bethany-Chan- you're not jealous are you?" he teased. The Senju's face flushed red, "I am not!" she cried, but noticed the looks the other customers were giving them and she calmed down almost immediately. "I'm not jealous- but she was just giving you so much attention, when everyone knows you're** ** _my_** **boyfriend" she replied quieter. The Uchiha grinned, "that's called jealousy Bethany-Chan- wow, I never knew you were so selfish- there's a lot more of this to go around after all" he stated, gesturing to himself. Bethany blushed in both anger and embarrassment, "well, if that's the way you feel, then-" but she never got a chance to finish as Madara's lips were suddenly over hers. The very action caught her by surprise and she tensed for a moment, before melting into the kiss.**

 **After another minute, Madara pulled back, both panting slightly from a lack of air. He then looked deep into her eyes, "I could never love anyone other than you- you're perfect in every way Bethany-Chan, even your faults are perfect" he smiled lovingly at her. Bethany was at a loss for words, "but- you just said-", "it was a joke Bethany, I was teasing you," he chuckled slightly as the woman blushed crimson, "yeah, well- you're too much of a good actor, don't do that" she said quickly, turning and staring pointedly at a spot on the wall, hoping he wouldn't see how red her face was. The young man placed his hand over her own, "Bethany-Chan, don't you know you're the only one for me?" he asked lightly. The woman turned back to face him, "Madara-Kun-" she said softly. Suddenly the waitress came back out, holding two bowls and a plate on a round brown tray, "Inarizushi and steamed dumplings for Uchiha-Sama, and wonton noodle soup for Hokage-Sama" she said, kneeling down to place the food on the table. Then she smiled and stood up, "enjoy your meal" she said graciously, before she turned to go serve someone else.**

 **Both picked up their chopsticks and broke them with a quiet: "itaidakimasu". As they ate, Bethany's face lit up, it was the best food she'd tasted for a long time. But that might be because she'd only eaten fruit and nuts for the last five years. Madara also seemed to be enjoying the hot food, as he was eating it much quicker than she'd ever seen him eat before, but he might just be hungry as well. After they'd finished eating, the waitress came back up to them, "did you enjoy it?" she asked as she picked up the dishes and placed them back on the tray. Bethany smiled gratefully, "very much so, in fact it was the best food I've eaten in a long time" she replied. Madara nodded his agreement, "yes, it was quite delicious- arigato Ueitoresu-San, (Miss Waitress)". The woman smiled, "you're very welcome, anytime you feel hungry, you can come here, okay?" she asked. When both her customers nodded, she walked away with the empty dishes in hand.**

 **After placing the money on the table, the two left and began walking back towards Bethany's office. They walked together quietly. When they'd reached the Hokage's office building, Bethany turned to her Boyfriend, "thank you Madara-Kun, I had a really nice time today" she said with a sincere smile on her face. The Uchiha nodded, "I did as well- maybe we can do this again sometime, since we** ** _are_** **a couple after all" he replied, with a small chuckle. After waving goodbye to each other, Bethany and Madara went their separate ways, Madara off to wherever he was going and Bethany back to her office.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **The woman worked through the piles of papers once again, this time with the help of her clones. As the real Bethany signed another document and set it aside, she sighed and clasped her hands together on the table in front of her. Turning around in her chair slightly, Bethany looked out over her village with a happy smile. Just watching the peace and happiness going on below her was enough to lift the young Hokage's spirits. And to think five years ago, she wouldn't have dreamed this was possible. It was truly a wondrous thing to see. And a truly beautiful sight as well.**

 **Turning back around, she quickly got to work finishing off the paperwork with the help of her clones. Once she was finished she sat back, a small smile of satisfaction on her face as she once again turned to look out the window. Her village and her people meant everything to her, and she would give her life to protect them if she had to. It was, after all, her duty as Hokage to protect those precious to her. Over the years she'd fought in the war, her fellows had become her comrades, her comrades had become her friends and her friends had become her family. That was how she now viewed the other unofficial Shinobi under her care- and she'd be damned if she failed to protect them now. With the young warriors being so close to her, she also considered their families a part of her family as well. Hashirama was proud of her for having this mindset, saying that she possessed "a true Will Of Fire" as he'd worded it. The young adult considered this a very high compliment, and she did everything in her power to be worthy of her teachers praise.**

 **The village itself was bustling with life and people, mainly her fellow Shinobi, store owners that had come to sell their wares and make a living and a few of the parents who had arrived to live with their children once again. It was a scene that made her happy to be their leader and be able to protect them.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Bethany was currently embroiled in a slightly toned down version of a no-hole's barred battle against all three of her teachers. She knew they were holding back, as all three of them together fighting at full strength would crush her, whether she was almost as strong as the Shodamine or not. After all, she was not only fighting Hashirama himself, but his brother and Minato at the same time. Now, some people might think this was a bit extensive, but the woman had wanted to keep her skills top notch, and, as she hadn't even hit her prime yet, she figured this was a good a way as any. They had gone away from the village so as not to cause any damage to it and were currently at one of the old battlefields they had used during the war.**

 **She was wearing a set of clothes that had specifically been made for training, with a self-repair seal and mesh sewn into the fabric. It was a tight, short-sleeved purple and brown training kimono, with the Senju Clan crest sewn onto the sleeves and back of it along with black training pants. She still wore the headband around her forehead, and it too had her clan crest on the middle of it. Having her family symbol shown off so predominately may have seemed a little much, but she was seemingly the only Senju born in the real world, so she didn't mind all that much. Besides, the Senju were the descendants of Asura Otsutsuki, the person who most wished for peace at that time other than his father, so she was happy to wear their crest really.**

 **Tobirama formed several Water Clones and sent them at Bethany, but she took out two kunai and back-flipped away from them. Throwing one kunai she dispelled one clone easily, while a paper bomb attached to the handle of the weapon then exploded and caused the other clone to disperse into water once again and splatter everywhere. Suddenly she spun around just in time to avoid having a Rasengan shoved into her back and attempted to knock Minato away with a powerful kick to his ribs, which partly succeeded and knocked him back a short distance. The blue orb of spinning, grinding Chakra dissipated and Bethany dashed at him, the second kunai ready to stab her teacher in the stomach. Just then her sensing abilities started going haywire, telling her one thing:** ** _get the hell out of dodge_** **. She decided to listen to her instincts and leapt away from the man. Just in time too, as barley a second later, a large amount of deadly sharp tree branches shot out of the ground in front of Minato, spearing through the space in which she just stood.**

 **Spinning around, she noticed that Tobirama was back and working in tandem with his brother, as both rushed at her. Gritting her teeth, the brown-haired girl was forced to keep her eyes on both her opponents, as Hashirama attacked her ruthlessly with the Wood Fist style, and Tobirama attacked her with his sword at an insanely fast speed. Using the kunai she still held, Bethany was able to block and deflect all of the Nidamine's strikes, but she was finding it difficult to split her attention between the two brothers, fighting Hashirama with Tai-Jutsu, while engaging in Kenjutsu against Tobirama. She kept her sensory abilities activated at all times- and it was lucky she did, as not even a second later she realised she'd forgotten one very important factor while fighting the two Senju brothers. A sudden blast of wind strong enough to knock her off her feet assaulted her. While in the air, a Flying Thunder God kunai shot past her, making her eyes go wide.**

 **Minato was suddenly in front of her, sending a speed enhanced punch to her stomach. The force he hit her with sent her crashing down to the ground once again, sending up a large cloud of dust from the impact. The three Hokage jumped down to check on their student, only to see a Wood Clone instead. Their eyes widened further when Bethany's voice rang out all around them: "Mokuton: Battlefield Forest!" in an instant, trees grew out of the ground at an astounding rate until they were surrounded by a large forest. But the surprises didn't stop there, as the trees suddenly came alive and attacked of their own accord. Branches whipped at them, tried to crush them- large spears of Wood flew from the trees, trying to impale them, more large branches came, but these grew deadly spikes all along their length that would inflict even more damage should they make contact with flesh.**

 **All three of them were forced to jump around wildly, trying to evade the numerous attacks that came at them from all sides. They landed on a branch to avoid a hail of deadly spears, only to have the branch they landed on attempt to wrap around and crush the life out of them. They dodged the branch, but then the roots of numerous trees would try to stab them to death. It really was a battlefield, and the three village leaders quickly realised that they would have to get out of its field of range if they wanted to survive. That, or take out the 'roots' of the problem. Hashirama formed several hand signs, "Doton: Earthquake!" he cried. The ground ruptured, the trees uprooted and crashed to the ground, and the three men leapt out of the forest.**

 **When they were standing on bare earth once again, the three Hokage looked around for their student, but she was nowhere to be seen. This immediately caused their guard to go up, and they stood in a triangle formation, back-to-back. For a single moment there was complete and utter silence, and it caused the three experienced Shinobi to be even more on edge than they were before. Suddenly something burst from the ground behind them, shooting past their necks, and causing the three to leap forwards and whirl around once they landed. Bethany climbed out of the ground, with a big grin on her face, "I win" she said lightly. Upon seeing the confused looks on her three Sensei's faces she clarified, "check your necks". The three men did so and their eyes widened when they felt a small scratch on each of their necks with a small amount of blood leaking out. Bethany smiled, "my last jutsu was my Mokuton: Splinter jutsu, and while it's not as effective a kill method as other jutsu, it could have easily sliced through your jugulars had I aimed more precisely" she explained.**

 **Hashirama chuckled before breaking out into loud laughter, "well, Bethany-Chan, I guess you really have surpassed us, huh?" To his surprise, Bethany shook her head, "I believe there are always things people can learn from those with more experience than them, even if that person is close to being stronger than their teachers- techniques, while they are useful, can pale in comparison to experience" she replied. The Senju leader grinned and ruffled her hair, "even so, you will surpass us one day Bethany-Chan, and when that day comes, I know you will make us, especially me, proud" the woman smiled happily, "arigato, Hashirama Sensei" she replied, grateful of his faith in her.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Bethany was currently talking with her father, explaining some of the training she had gone through over the last few years, (leaving out the specifics of the war as she didn't want to burden him with that, and really, he hadn't fought in it, so she didn't think he could really understand how she'd felt) and enquiring about his own progress with his Kekke Tota, Light Style, or Hikari No Hoshutsu. Paul was shocked at how much she'd pushed herself to become stronger, and proud that she had stuck with the training even though it had been hard. "Of course," she replied when he'd said this out loud, "I had to become strong so that I could protect everyone and end the war- also, so that I could achieve my dream" she explained without a shred of doubt in her voice or eyes.**

 **Her father smiled softly, "I'm really proud of you Bethany, though I'm surprised that you had anything to do with that war" he said. Bethany smiled sadly, "it's not like I had a choice- Akito wouldn't let us leave at first, demanding that, since we had chakra, and the others had to fight to survive, that if they didn't get a choice, we wouldn't either and to help them fight. After my first kill, which was shortly after that, I was overcome by guilt, though Hashirama was able to ease it afterwards. It was early the next morning that I left the hideout and went to the cliff that the village is built in front of. That was where I met Madara-Kun for the first time, and I let all my pain and guilt out to him," Bethany looked up at the ceiling, as though watching the sky, "in response, he explained that he himself still felt immensely guilty for his own kills and told me that his first one had been when the men came to take him away," Paul kept silent, letting his daughter talk.**

 **"** **He told me that his father had abandoned him for his four younger brothers, escaping with them and leaving Madara to be captured," she paused for a moment, feeling her dislike of the man that Madara called 'father' build up then dissipate. "When they did try to capture him, he awakened his Sharingan, with two tomoe's in each eye and killed them all, after which he ran away, eventually meeting up with the other children who had Chakra, and joining them, though he despised the fighting just as much as I did" Bethany smiled softly, "he then went on to lament that there wasn't a place for us to belong in the world, a place where we could be safe, wether we did or didn't have Chakra, saying that if there was then he could live with his brothers their and finally be safe," she closed her eyes and chuckled quietly, "I then suggested that if there wasn't a place for us to belong in the world, then we could make our own- a village where children wouldn't have to fight and die for a freedom that they'd never get to experience, where they could be safe and happy with their family's without having to worry about being hunted by people who either wanted to use them as weapons or kill them to keep them from becoming a danger to the rest of the world," Bethany paused for a moment and took a breath.**

 **"** **Where they could choose whether to fight or not and could become strong, not only for themselves, but to protect their families, and precious people," she chuckled, causing her father, who had been listening with rapt attention to tilt his head in slight confusion, "Madara-Kun promptly stated that that was stupid, and that I couldn't possibly do something like that, which then caused me to get depressed," Paul looked shocked, "but you said he always supported you!" his killing intent began to flare, " oh, when I get my hands on that damn worthless brat, I'm gonna-" he didn't get a chance to finish, because Bethany unleashed her presence for a slight moment, and it caused the house to shake. Paul paused and turned to face his daughter, shocked at the power she had just displayed with such a brief outputting of Chakra. The woman smiled, "good, now, may I finish?" she asked in a deceptively sweet tone that meant 'no nonsense'. The man blinked for a moment, then nodded.**

 **Bethany smiled, "thank you, now, as I was saying, he told me that I'd never be able to do something like that on my own, so he'd help me," Paul blinked, and his daughter continued, "he said that if that place was built, that he could bring his brothers their and they'd all be safe, so he'd help me achieve my dream because my dream was his dream now too" Paul smiled softly then, and Bethany returned it, "we pledged to create this village together, on top of the very cliff that stands behind it, looking out over the forest where it would one day stand, our dream was born, and here it has finally been realised". Paul looked down, "wow, that's amazing Bethany" he said after a moment of silence. The brown-haired woman grinned, "it wasn't easy, and it took a lot of time to reach this point, during the second year of the war, or the first year I fought in it, I trained even harder, determined to endure for the sake of our peace and eventually I became the leader after Akito was killed with me being unable to save him, as I had not yet learned medical Ninjutsu- some of the other children were broken-hearted and enraged by their leaders death, but none more so than Yue" she sighed again.**

 **"** **Yue blamed me for Akito's death, saying that I probably let him die and didn't even do anything to try and save him, and while I defended myself saying that there was nothing I could do and that Akito himself had told me that trying to save him was a lost cause, the boy didn't believe me, and promptly left along with a portion of other children who agreed with him. When they'd left I buried Akito's body and grew a tree over the grave. When I'd found Akito dying, he'd made me promise to protect everyone, as he could tell that I cared just as much about them as he did, and I swore to him that I would protect everyone with all my strength. He thanked me then said that he thought I might really be the one to bring peace between us and that my dream might be able to come true after all, then he thanked me for being his friend and died. When everyone besides Hashirama Sensei and I had left the grave, I swore to Akito that I would make the dream Madara and I shared a reality.**

 **I continued to train, mastering more Mokuton jutsu, Kenjutsu, the Flying Thunder God jutsu, and even learned Sealing, and eventually, after five more years of war and training, I had become the strongest of us along with Madara-Kun," Bethany took breath, then continued, "everyone said I was the strongest leader they'd ever had and many of them admired me for my strength of body, will and mind, though it was shortly after Akito's death that I met someone who would come to be very special to me" Paul raised an eyebrow, special to her? "one day as I was tending to the garden I had grown in the first year, in order for us to have more food, a little girl, around seven years old, who possessed the Byakugan came up to me and told me she didn't want to fight in the war any more, her mother had given her life so that she wouldn't have to become a weapon and now she, and so many others were dead because of the war, she didn't understand what the point of fighting was if we were all just going to die anyway" Paul looked sad, poor girl.**

 **"** **She then collapsed to the ground in tears and I picked her up and carried her to a bench that was nearby, it was as she was calming down that I asked her for her name, which I found out was Makoto. I then told her that I'd never wanted to fight in the war either and still didn't, to which she was confused because she'd heard that when I fought I was completely fearless, and I answered that the only reason I seemed like that was because of my determination to protect everyone and make my dream a reality. To my surprise, Makoto-Chan became determined as well, and told me that she would help me achieve my dream no matter what. I was shocked for a moment, but soon got over it and thanked her for having faith in me and standing by my side and she asked me if I would be her big sister, to which I accepted. Soon enough though we had to start fighting again, and I saw something that made me hate those worthless bastards with every fibre of my being," Paul looked at her, wondering what they could have done to make Bethany so furious with them.**

 **Bethany turned to face him, and said in a cold, hard voice, "they didn't kill the children they'd captured- their fate was far worse than any I'd imagined" she paused and her eyes darkened. Her father shivered at the look in her eyes. With her power, it was enough to make any grown man run screaming in fear of his life. Paul was almost afraid to ask, but his curiosity was too strong, "wh-what had happened to them?" he asked, his voice wavering. Bethany clenched her fists, "they put the once innocent children through hellish tourer's that they called 'training', causing them to lose their humanity and become nothing more than mindless puppets, being controlled by their twisted and sick-minded teachers and leaders" she ground out through clenched teeth. Paul paled, his blood running cold, "they what?" he asked faintly, hardly able to believe such a thing could have been done. But the look in his daughter's eyes told him that it was true. She sighed, calming down slightly, "up until that point, we had only been fighting adults, but to fight and kill children- children who were once like us in their former innocence was something I'd never had to face before, but I knew that to protect everyone, I'd have to overcome my problems with that much sooner than I'd like," she paused, looking up again.**

 **"** **We all fought without holding back, and soon, despite the other children also possessing chakra, our superior numbers, more effective training and- what I believe, will to protect each other, caused the enemy to retreat. During the battle, Madara-Kun had also demonstrated his mastery of the Great Fire Annihilation jutsu, the signature fire jutsu of his Naruto world namesake, and I must say I was amazed at the power behind the technique- he wiped out a good portion of our advisories, and all of his own attackers," her father looked impressed by this. "After a final attack by me, the men retreated and we were allowed to rest again. While we were, Mako-Chan came up to me and asked when the fighting would end. As much as I hated to admit it, I knew that the war would only most likely be stopped when all our enemies were wiped out- either that or we would make a peace treaty with the enemy, I dearly hoped that would be the case,".**

 **The woman sighed, and looked up at her father again, "It's getting late, let's get some rest- I can tell you the rest later" she said. Paul nodded, and enveloped his daughter into a hug. Bethany gasped, not expecting this, "D-Daddy?" she asked softly. Paul bent his head, "I don't blame you or hate you for what you did Bethany, you were only trying to protect those precious to you, and for that you were willing to forgo your own morals- you were brave Bethany- so brave, and I've never been more proud of my precious daughter" he whispered into her ear. The woman's eyes widened for a moment, then she smiled softly, "thank you Daddy, I love you" she replied, genuinely grateful, as she returned the hug.**


	17. Chapter 17

**The next day during her lunch break, Bethany was once again training with her teachers. Paul and Madara watched with awe as the girl trained in Taijutsu with Hashirama. Even Madara, who remembered how they'd trained during the war, was shocked at just how** ** _intense_** **the two were with their speed, precision and strength. Paul flinched as he tried not to blink, worried that if he did he wouldn't be able to keep track of what was going on. But it was no use, as they moved too fast for the normal human eye to see, mere blurs of speed, the force of which destroyed the barren battlefield even more than it already had been.**

 **"** **Holy-" Bethany's father breathed as the two streaked across the ground. From the glimpses of the spar he could see, he could tell just how precise and elegantly they moved, no action went unintended, no energy was wasted. It was more like a very deadly dance than a spar, and the man knew that he'd never be able to move like that in a thousand years.**

 **Eventually, the two Mokuton users shot apart, landing on the ground for good. Hashirama slid maybe two inches, while Bethany skid back about a meter before she was able to stop herself. She was panting slightly, a light sheen of sweat covering her face. Suffice to say it was a great improvement from when she'd started. The girl chuckled, while walking over and picking up a towel that she'd left on the ground, "ahh, I think that was better than last time, huh?" she asked cheerfully. Hashirama smiled, "you've gotten much better, Bethany-Chan, I'm impressed" he said, proud of how far his student had come in only five years.**

 **Madara walked up, with her father close behind, "that was amazing, Bethany-Chan!" the young man exclaimed proudly. That was his girlfriend alright. The woman grinned, "arigato, Madara-Kun" she replied happily. Paul meanwhile was still too shocked to speak. That had been unlike anything he'd ever seen before. Hashirama placed a hand on the girls shoulder, "one of these days we should go full strength to push you to your limits, after all, we can't surpass them if we don't find them, Ne?" he asked. Bethany smiled back, "yes, well, maybe another time Sensei, after all, I still need breaks too". Her father blinked, then blurted: "what! You mean that's not your limit yet?!" he yelled in shock. The woman shook her head, "Daddy, I haven't even reached my prime yet, though I should hit it soon" she said in contemplation. The black-haired man looked like he was about to faint. Unfortunately he never got the chance, because just then a pre-teen boy ran up to them, looking quite out of breath.**

 **"** **Taicho, thank god I found you!" he exclaimed in relief. Bethany was about to make a joke about how he was supposed to call her 'Hokage-Sama' now, but one look at the boys wide, fearful eyes and pale face immediately pushed any thoughts of teasing out of her mind. In a sudden blur of speed she was by the boy's side, helping him to sit down and rest. Her face was deadly serious, the kind only Hashirama or herself could pull off. Not even Tobirama could exude this kind of presence, "what happened?" she asked in a hard tone- her voice allowing no room for misunderstanding. Yes, she knew when to be serious all right. Even if she was worried she didn't let it show, choosing to find out what the emergency was and deal with it, then worry about what could have happened after.**

 **Once the boy had calmed down and everyone had come over, something which only took about ten seconds, he blurted out: "Makoto's been attacked!" Everyone gasped, and the young Hokage felt her blood run cold. She instantly gripped the boy's shoulders, albeit gently, "where?" she demanded in a dangerous voice- a voice that made everyone who heard it simultaneously shiver. "O-over by the river Bethany-Taicho- I tried to keep her stable, but there's so much blood-" he didn't get a chance to finish, as the brown-haired girl was suddenly gone in a flash of brown, purple and black.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **When she appeared at the river bank, Bethany could only gasp with horror for a moment as she stared at the terrible sight before her. Makoto was literally covered in her own blood. What little skin was visible under the partly dried red liquid was pale and scarred. The woman ran up to the girl immediately and knelt down next to her, but didn't pick her up, knowing that if she moved the girl, she would lose even more blood. "Mako-Chan! hey!" she called, trying to get the child's attention. The 12 year olds eyes fluttered, then slowly opened. She looked around for a moment without seeing anything, before her hazy vision found the kneeling form of Bethany bending over her.**

 **She tilted her head up slightly, "N-Nee-Sa-ma?" she asked weakly, before coughing blood. Bethany bit her lip anxiously. This situation seemed far too familiar in the young woman's mind. Makoto gasped as agony erupted in her side and she clenched her eyes shut and let out a groan of pain. Bethany shook herself out of her memories and began to speak once again while swiftly forming hand signs and carefully moulding her chakra, "you're going to be okay, Makoto- everything's going to be alright" she reassured the girl, as she completed the last hand sign and green healing chakra began to glow around her hands. As she gently placed her palms over the wound in her pseudo sister's side, the girl ground her teeth, before panting heavily. "Don't worry, I am going to save you- understand? I promise" Bethany said firmly, as the deep gash in Makoto's side slowly began to disappear. The girl opened her eyes and stared at her leader.**

 **Bethany worked diligently on Makoto's wound, not stopping until she was sure the girl would be fine. Finally the gash was closed, and Bethany smiled weakly at the lavender-haired Hyuuga. Makoto blinked slowly, "Nee-Sama" Bethany nodded firmly, "you'll be fine now, let's get you to the hospital, okay?" she asked, gently picking the twelve year old up and vanishing-via-Flying Thunder God.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **About half an hour later, found the three Hokage, Paul and Madara walking into the hospital to find Bethany sitting on a chair in a blank hospital room. She sat beside a bed containing a young girl with long lose lavender hair that was wavy from being tied into plats. They couldn't see the child's eyes because she was currently asleep, but her skin looked very pale and delicate. Bethany was sitting next to the bed and holding the girl's hand with a relieved and slightly worried look on her face. Hashirama spoke up quietly, "Bethany-Chan?" he asked. The young woman turned to look at them. She looked slightly tired, and a little worried, but they could also see the large amounts of relief in her eyes. She smiled slightly, "hey guys" she whispered, "you can come in, but be quiet, I want her to get as much rest as possible". Everyone nodded and walked into the hospital room silently.**

 **Paul looked at the child in the bed sadly, "is that the girl that you bonded with, the one who calls you 'Nee-Sama'?" he asked quietly. Bethany, her hair shadowing her eyes, nodded, "yes, this is Makoto- I call her Mako-Chan" she replied just as quietly. Paul nodded, "I see" was all he said in response. Minato spoke up then, "will she be alright?" he asked gently. The young village leader nodded, "hai". Hashirama grinned slightly, "well, that's good, ne?" he asked. The brown-haired girl didn't respond for a moment, then she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper: "I- almost lost her" she said. Everyone frowned, but stayed where they were, allowing the woman to speak the things that were currently burdening her heart. "I was almost too late to save her- she could have died today, and it would have been my fault because I didn't get there in time to save her," Bethany now had small trails of tears falling down her face, "she would have died all alone and in pain and it would have been my fault-" she choked back a sob, her tears now increasing into uncontrollable streams, "just like it was for Akito" she whispered, but everyone heard it.**

 **Immediately, Hashirama and Paul were by her side. Madara would have gone too, but as her teacher and father, he understood that those two were the only ones that could really comfort her at this moment. Bethany quickly broke down into sobs, burying her face in her father's clothes and clutching onto her Sensei for dear life. She felt like a horrible person and a horrible leader for what she'd allowed to happen to someone so precious to her- if she'd been a few moments later, Makoto might have really died. A few moments of uncontrollable crying later, she sat in her chair, drying her eyes on a tissue that her father had given her. Once she was composed enough to speak clearly again, Bethany faced her teachers, father and boyfriend, "thank you for supporting me- really, I'm truly grateful for everything you've done for me," she sniffed, and turned to face her father, "all of you" she repeated, causing the man to smile. Turing back to look at the sleeping lavender-haired girl, the Hokage frowned, "if only I knew what had happened, she was so badly hurt" she said quietly, but everyone heard her.**

 **"** **I'm sure you'll find out soon Bethany-Chan" Hashirama said, in an attempt to comfort the girl. Bethany's eyes turned fierce, "yes, I will," she paused and sat up straight, unconsciously causing everyone else to copy her. "If there is someone out there who is attacking my people, for whatever reason- if they think that they can get away with harming those precious to me, attacking my home-" she paused, and her eyes darkened, "I will show them no mercy or hesitancy- I will kill anyone who threatens my family- I swear!" her eyes shone with the conviction of her words. All of them had no doubt that she would destroy whoever dared to harm her people.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Thankfully, Makoto regained consciousness within the hour, but had to remain in the hospital for monitoring. After all- she had lost an awful lot of blood. Bethany was currently talking quietly with the girl, while her teachers, father and boyfriend were taking a walk. "Are you sure you're feeling ok Makoto?" Bethany asked again. The twelve year old smiled, "yes, again, I feel fine Nee-Sama, if a bit weak" she repeated, though she didn't really mind doing so- she had been almost certain that she was going to die before, so confirming that she was alive was something she could live with. Bethany smiled back, "thank god, I was so scared that I might have lost you Imoto-Chan" she said, her eyes becoming clouded with pain. The lavender-haired girl frowned, "Nee-Sama" she said softly.**

 **Bethany shook her head and grinned again, "anyway, it doesn't matter, you're alive and that's all that matters" she said cheerfully. Suddenly she became serious once again, causing the girl to sit a little straighter on her hospital bed. "Makoto-Chan, this is important- do you remember anything at all about your attacker, any distinguishing features?" she asked. Makoto frowned and thought for a moment, then shook her head, causing Bethany to deflate and close her eyes, "no, I'm sorry, I can't-" the girl paused, "actually, wait- yes, I do remember something" she said, and the woman's eyes snapped open. She was focusing so much on the child in front of her, that she didn't even feel the presence of the five people approaching the hospital room. "I can't remember much, facial features are all foggy in my head, but there's one thing I do remember, as though the image was burned into my mind," she paused again, and the door slid open, but Bethany didn't even hear it. "The person white eyes with a third eye on their forehead. The third eye was red with multiple rings and nine tomoe on the rings" she explained**

 **Bethany's eyes widened at the description and her face turned pale. No, it couldn't be. There was only one person that set of eyes. But it couldn't be her. For the first time since the war, Bethany Middleton felt true and deep terror coursing through her. How did** ** _she_** **get here? Could it be just another child like them instead? No, that wasn't possible. Even with children awakening their chakra, the chances of someone awakening** ** _those_** **eyes were- but what if it** ** _was_** **one of them? Who could have those eyes? If it was another child, where had he or she been during the war? Did they even know what it was they possessed in the first place? And if it was a child, why would they attack Makoto? What if it was** ** _her_** **and not a child? What was** ** _she_** **even doing in this world if it was? Did she intend to reclaim the chakra that those in her village possessed, or was their another reason? Besides, if it was really** ** _that person_** **, why would she bother to attack Makoto and not just take her chakra? Hell, she could have just attacked and taken back her chakra before killing them all by now if it was her.**

 **The woman began to shake. If it was** ** _her_** **and she did attack them, they would stand no chance, not as they were. They weren't strong enough yet. Oh god, they could all die! They could all- "Bethany!" the shout snapped her out of her quickly deteriorating thoughts and she looked around. Everyone was staring at her with wide eyes, seeming to be terrified. Of course, her own eyes were pretty much mirror reflections of theirs, wide and terror filled. How could she tell them? How could she tell them that she suspected a veritable god had appeared in their world, hell bent on taking their chakra while trapping them inside a world of illusions until they became nothing more than hollow shells of what they once were? No, she couldn't stand it. After everything they had suffered through to get to where they were now, how could she just accept that? How could any of them accept that, after all they had fought for and lost?**

 **Bethany looked around at the worried (and impassive, with a very slight frown) faces of those around her. She took a deep breath and, though she found it** ** _very_** **difficult at the moment, gave a genuine smile, "it's nothing, I've just never heard of a Dojutsu like that before- so I'm just worried about the power it might hold" she replied, lying through her teeth. Until she found a way to tell them about what she suspected, it was better not to worry them too much, especially Makoto, as it wouldn't be good for her condition to get her too worked up. Everyone seemed to accept this answer- at least for the moment, and Bethany turned to her little sister. She smiled, "thank you for your help, Mako-Chan, I really appreciate it" she said gently.**

 **Makoto frowned, but nodded, "you're welcome, Nee-Sama, I-" but she was cut off by a massive yawn. Everyone smiled, except for Tobirama, who gave a small smirk, "get some sleep now, I'll be back in the morning, okay?" Bethany asked, helping her to lie back down on the bed. The girl smiled, "arigato" she said, before she fell asleep once more. The others all exchanged looks, before leaving the room and hospital quietly.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Bethany was currently sitting in her office, surrounded by paperwork, but she was in no mood to work on it. Even creating Wood Clones wouldn't help, as they too would just be distracted by the same thing she was and nothing would get done, so it would be just a waste of Chakra. She was sitting and staring out the window at her home while lost in deep contemplation. The person who had attacked Makoto had** ** _those_** **eyes- the RinneSharingan. The eyes that could destroy the world. But they could also be used for a darker purpose and the very thought of** ** _that_** **being cast on the world sent shivers of horror down her spine. The Rinnegan, the eyes of the Sage of the Six Paths was said to be the strongest Dojutsu in existence. That wasn't true. The Sages eyes were called the eyes of god. That was wrong also. The RinneSharingan. Precursor of the Rinnegan and the Sharingan.**

 **That eye was the strongest in the world. That eye was one that not just anyone could have, even in their world where people had awakened other Dojutsu along with their Chakra.** ** _That eye_** **was the true eye of god, one that could bend the world to a person's will- an eye of such power that to just be in it's very presence caused the world to shake. She knew of only one person who held that Dojutsu. Kaguya Otsutsuki. Mother of the Sage Of The Six Paths Hagoromo Otsutsuki and Hamura Otsutsuki, the Rabbit Goddess and attempted ruler of the world. The very thought that someone else might possess those eyes without being able to control them made Bethany tremble in terror, but the thought that it could be Kaguya herself – one who could control the true eyes of god and now existed in her world, made the woman fall to her knees in despair and helplessness. Was this what it was like to feel truly hopeless?**

 **She didn't know what to do. She felt afraid- so very afraid. Bethany repressed a shiver and stood from her desk. Since she couldn't focus on her work, the woman decided to find Hashirama and talk to him about these things, she was sure he would be able to help her find an answer. Bethany left the office, telling her secretary that she was taking a break to speak to her teacher. As she left the building, the woman breathed out a sigh of contentment. The sun was warm, the people were happy and safe and everything was good in her village. Though, she had no idea how long that would last. Smiling slightly, the girl walked down the streets of her home, smiling to old and new faces and waving at those who waved to her. Humming happily, the young woman walked to the Senju compound that she had built for herself, her teachers and any children she and Madara had who didn't have the Sharingan to move into when they were old enough.**

 **"** **Bethany!" The girl turned around to see her father walk up to her. Bethany smiled slightly, "hello Daddy, what are you doing out here?" she asked curiously. Paul looked around, "I wanted to explore the village, I'm impressed with what you've done here Bethany" he replied with a smile. The girl grinned, "arigato- would you like to walk with me? I'm going to visit Hashirama Sensei, Tobirama Sensei and Minato Sensei at the Senju Compound?" she asked. The man nodded, "I would like that, I've been curious about that part of the village" he said gratefully. The two walked together in a companionable silence, while Bethany continued to greet her friends around the village. Paul smiled, "well, it seems like you've made quite a few more friends Bethany" he said. The brown-haired girl grinned, "well, after spending five years with most of these people, I guess it was inevitable that we became very close- after all I consider all these people family now as well" she replied happily.**

 **Her father smiled back, "I see, I'm happy for you- really, this really is a special place" he said. Bethany nodded, "yes, it is" she replied. The two walked quietly until they reached the Senju compound that Hashirama had built, it was exactly like his compound from the Naruto world. Paul stared, "wow, this is incredible, it must have taken a long time to build something like this" he said, but blinked when he realised that his daughter was chuckling. He turned to face her, "what?" the man asked in confusion. She calmed down and turned to face her father, "Daddy, have you seriously forgotten what mine and Hashirama Sensei's and Bloodline is?" she asked in amusement. Paul blinked again, before his eyes widened, "oh, right, Wood Style" he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "I forgot" he said. Bethany shook her head slightly, "Daddy, could you at least try to remember our main ability since it's what built most of the village, please?" she asked.**

 **The black-haired man nodded, "ah, sorry" he replied sheepishly. Bethany sighed, "ah, whatever, anyway, Sensei is the one who built the compound- as he's the one who lived in it in their world, so he's the one who remembers what it looks like" she explained. They walked up to the door and the woman knocked twice. The door opened and the two saw Tobirama standing there. Bethany smiled, "Konichiwa Tobirama Sensei, we've come to visit you and your brother" she explained, gesturing towards her father who waved meekly at the white-haired man when he turned impassive eyes to look at him. Paul wouldn't say it out loud, but the Nidamine always made him slightly nervous. The man nodded, and turned to lead the way into the compound. Upon walking into the compound itself, Bethany gasped in delight.**

 **There were trees, flowers and all manner of beautiful plants that the girl had never seen nor heard of before. It was like a beautiful forest inside a single compound. Just the sight of it caused Bethany to smile, "what beautiful gardens!" she exclaimed happily. Tobirama grunted, "Anija made them" was all he said. The Nidamine Hokage strode silently and confidently through the area, leading his student and her father to where his brother was relaxing under a Sakura tree in his yard. When he'd sensed their presence, Hashirama turned to them, smiling happily, "Konban-wa, Bethany-Chan, Paul-San, are you here to visit?" he asked cheerfully. Bethany nodded, "hai, Konban-wa, Hashirama Sensei, are you feeling well today?" she asked. Paul noted that his daughter had also gained more conversation skills over the last five years. The Senju leader nodded, "hai, very much so Bethany-Chan" he replied. The girl grinned, "that's good, I'm glad" she replied happily.**

 **The man patted the ground next to him, "would you like to sit? It's very relaxing here" he suggested. Nodding her assent, the woman sat down next to her teacher under the tree. Paul looked hesitant, and Hashirama smiled, "I'm not that scary, am I?" he asked with humour in his voice. The black-haired man shook his head and sat quickly next to his daughter, while Tobirama left silently. Bethany watched the sky with a smile on her face. It was enough to almost make her forget all her worries for the moment. She took a deep breath and sighed heavily. The Senju leader turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow, "so Bethany-Chan- what's troubling you?" he asked gently and casually, trying to keep the discussion light, as he could tell that his student's heart was heavily burdened by the knowledge that she kept to herself.**

 **Bethany's face turned solemn, "Sensei, what do you know about the Sage Of The Six Paths?" she asked him. "Not much, except legends that our clan was able to procure, why?" he replied curiously. Bethany then went on to explain his history and the history of the man's mother. She told him about how, with the help of his twin brother, Hamura, Hagromo defeated and sealed his mother. Bethany explained about the Sages two sons, the child prodigy and the talentless boy. How after Hagromo's death and his appointment of his youngest son Asura to be his heir, Indra, the oldest son and prodigy was manipulated by the remaining will of his Grandmother to fight his brother and was defeated by him, as the young man had gained a power all his own from training and the support of his many friends and allies. Bethany explained how after their battle, Indra went away enraged by his defeat and was continually manipulated by Kaguya, in the form of Black Zetsu. She told him how the descendants of the two sons continued to fight, with the descendants of Indra believing power was everything and the descendants of Asura believing in power through love.**

 **That although Asura was charged with bringing peace through love by his father, the war between him and his brother and their descendants were too much for him to achieve that dream, and their descendants carried on their never ending battle. Bethany stared her teacher in the eye, "Sensei, do you know who the descendants of the two brothers are?" she asked. The man thought for a moment, then his eyes went wide, "you- you don't mean that-" he paused, too shocked to continue. Bethany nodded, "hai, the descendants of Indra would one day come to be known as the Uchiha Clan, while the descendants of Asura would come to be known as the Senju, and by extension, the Uzumaki" Hashirama was shocked. The whole war between the Senju and the Uchiha was due to their ancestor's hatred of each other? Not only that, but they were both directly descended from the giver of chakra himself. "Holy-" he breathed, leaning back on the tree.**

 **Bethany brought one knee up to her chest and held it there with her hands while the other one was straight out in front of her, "I understand that this is a lot to take in, but there's more I'm afraid" she said, looking down. The brown-haired man turned to look at her, "more?" he asked. Bethany, still looking down, nodded, "Asura and Indra didn't just die when their time was up, they transmigrated to other bodies- it's sort of like reincarnation, except the will and chakra goes to a new host body when the previous host dies and the new host is born." She looked up at her teacher again, "do you know who the two previous incarnations of Asura and Indra were before the current ones? You should, you were very, very close to them after all" she told him with a slight smile. Hashirama thought for a moment, then gasped, "no way- Madara, and, and me?!" he asked in shock. The smile widened, "whoever said you weren't a genius was an idiot Sensei" she said happily. The Senju leader gapped for another minute before shaking his head and asking, "but, what does that have to do with this new enemy?"**

 **Bethany's smile fell and she looked down at her lap, "the eye that Makoto saw when she was attacked- it is called the RinneSharingan. The only person in existence to hold that Dojutsu-" here she paused and took a deep breath, preparing herself for what she was about to say, "was Kaguya Otsutsuki". Paul went wide-eyed, "oh god- then you think that, she could be** ** _here_** **?" he asked in shock. Bethany nodded and began to shake, "I-I don't know what to do- if Kaguya is in this world, then with the power we have now, we'd never be able to stop her- she'd trap all of us in a fake world while she stole our chakra, and kill anyone who got in her way- we aren't powerful enough to take on someone like her with the strength we have now- if we tried we'd all die," Bethany was trembling hard now, with tears rolling down her cheeks.**

 **She looked up at her teacher and father, and both could see just how deep her fear went, "I'm so scared, no I'm terrified- I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do anymore!" Bethany then burst into tears and covered her face with her hands. Hashirama pulled his student into his arms, feeling her body shaking uncontrollably. She gripped onto his clothes and sobbed with uncontrollable terror. Paul wished he could comfort his daughter that way, but in truth he was afraid too. He knew that it would be no use trying to support Bethany when he couldn't even stop his own despair from engulfing him at the mere thought of a person that powerful. "Bethany-Chan, you aren't the only one facing this problem - everyone is willing to stand behind you, and even if this Kaguya is a god, there is always a way to defeat someone if we work together- understand?" he asked softly.**

 **The woman dried her tears and looked up at her Sensei with determination burning in her eyes, "hai, I understand, and I hope that when the time comes that you will all stand by my side" she said, while bowing her head. Hashirama nodded, "of course we will Bethany-Chan, we will save this world and we'll do it together" he said with conviction. The woman nodded, now feeling her sense of will reigniting itself along with her hope. Together, that was how they would defeat Kaguya. She had faith in all her people that as long as they worked together, they would be able to save this world.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Bethany was training herself in a training field that she had built, trying to become strong enough to face the trials ahead. Her talk with Hashirama had quelled some of her fears, but she still knew that if she wasn't strong enough herself, they could very well loose the coming war. She also knew that the power of those in the village, while great as well as being bolstered by the presence of the 3 Hokage, wouldn't be enough to combat Kaguya all on their own. After all, it took the entire Allied Shinobi Forces as well as four reanimated Hokage to even beat down that world's Madara, and that was** ** _before_** **he became the Ten Tails Jinchuriki. She was contemplating enlisting the aid of the governments of the world, as they would surely be able to provide some help.**

 **But would they** ** _agree_** **to help? It was true that the rest of the world had agreed to leave them alone, but would they help them in their time of need? Surly if Bethany explained the severity of the situation, they would agree that the only way to save their world was to work together? After all, it worked with the Great Shinobi Nations. She didn't really know what would happen, but right now it wasn't important. Bethany lashed out with a swift punch , before stepping back and flowing into a double kick after flipping onto the palms of her hands. She was currently working on her Taijutsu, though she knew that that wasn't going to much help against the opponent that they were up against. What she** ** _really_** **had to work on was her Sage mode and derived jutsu, as she knew that Kaguya was vulnerable to Nature Chakra. So right now, she was waiting for Hashirama to arrive at the training grounds to help her with her Sage mode. She knew that she was already able to use it effectively in a fight, as shown by her fight against Yue during the final battle of the last war.**

 **But now the challenge was to improve upon what she already knew. Hashirama had mastered Sage Mode to such a degree that he was able to enter it in seconds without having to spend long periods of time not moving. This ability to instantly enter Sage Mode was what Bethany desperately needed to learn if she wanted to have any hope of even surviving the coming war- let alone protecting her people and winning it. Sensing her teachers Chakra entering the area, Bethany returned to her starting pose, before turning to face the Shodai with a smile, "Konichiwa Sensei" she said with a bow. Hashirama returned her bow with one of his own, "Konichiwa, Bethany-Chan" he replied, smiling as well, "now, are you ready to work on your Sage Mode some more?" he asked. Bethany nodded in determination, "hai, I'm ready" she replied. The man grinned, "you know, you're the best student I've ever taught, you embrace my philosophies whole-heartedly and you're always willing to learn new things- not to mention you are a very kind person and you have a lot more determination to protect and get stronger than some other civilians I've met, especially children- I couldn't have asked for a better student, Bethany-Chan" he said proudly.**

 **Bethany grinned in thanks, "arigato, that means a lot to me Sensei" she replied happily. Hashirama now sat on the ground with his student, "alright, so, what you're trying to do is decrease the time it takes for you to gather enough Nature Chakra to enter Sage Mode, right?" he asked. Bethany nodded, "Hai, the only reason it didn't cause problems with Yue, was because it was too dark for him to see me properly at the time, I'm sure he used some other kind of ability to find me with his darkness jutsu activated- also because he was so focussed on taunting me and hurting me as much as possible to notice fast enough" she explained, "I'm sure against anyone else who knew what they were doing, or who didn't give me enough time to gather Nature Chakra, I would be dead in moments" she said with a frown, remembering how long it had taken her to gather Nature Chakra last time. That was a major weakness that she was hoping this training would eliminate.**

 **The Shodamine nodded in understanding, "alright then, the first thing we need to do is try to increase the rate at which you absorb Nature Chakra gradually, so get comfortable" he told her. Bethany nodded and complied with a quick: "hai". After she had gotten into a comfortable position, the woman calmed her breathing and focussed on staying still. Hashirama watched his student with a critical eye, counting the time it took for her to enter Sage Mode. After about 10 minutes, the black rings appeared around her eyes angling down the sides of her face with the black target mark on her forehead. Bethany opened her eyes and smiled, "I did it Sensei!" she said happily. Hashirama smiled back and nodded, "good job- that was near ten minutes, your job for now is to try and reduce that amount, and then we'll work on the amount of Nature Chakra you can gather at any one time- after all, it wouldn't do for you suddenly run out during a battle". Nodding resolutely, the young woman set to work again.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **It was now afternoon and Bethany had reduced the time it took for her to enter Sage Mode by ⅖ minutes. Needless to say her teacher was impressed, and to celebrate, he took her out to a tea shop for an afternoon snack. On the way, many people, from the young men and women who had fought in the war, to their families waved or called out greetings. Bethany returned all of these accordingly, just happy that these people could be together once again. Suddenly a little girl around four years old ran out from behind a fence and tripped and fell. Before the Senju leader could do anything, Bethany had already shot forwards and picked up the now crying girl. After dusting her off, the Senju grew a flower from the ground and gave it to the girl who had by now stopped crying and smiled in gratitude. She gave a short bow to the woman and then ran off again, presumably to go home to her parents. Bethany waved happily with a smile on her face, "bye, bye!" she called as she stood up again.**

 **Hashirama grinned at his student, who grinned back and the two started walking again. As they walked, Bethany looked around at the peacefulness and smiled, but then sighed. Hashirama looked at the girl questioningly, "what's wrong?" he asked while raising an eyebrow. Bethany looked up at the sky, "I was just thinking how short an amount of time it's been since the previous war ended, and now it looks like we might have to end up fighting again- we'd finally achieved our peace, why did that bitch have to go and ruin everything?" she asked unhappily. The Shodamine from Naruto looked at his student sadly, "I can't say I don't hate Kaguya, because I do, she attacked someone I considered to be family and nearly killed her, and now she's going to start a war which will only cause more people to die- but even if I hate her I can still understand her, she, like me and yourself wants to bring peace to this and your world- but it's a false peace, and one that will cause people to die in the end anyway," Bethany sighed again, and closed her eyes, "Madara-Kun and I created this village to give people like us, who had Chakra, their families or people who just wanted to live without the hatred the rest of the world is enshrouded in a place to call home and to be safe from war, but now-" she paused and a single tear slipped out from behind her eyelids, "it's not fair damn it all! Why couldn't we just at least have a year to recover without some crazy bitch trying to destroy us all, why?!" she demanded.**

 **Hashirama looked down sadly, "I don't know but, just know that I, my brother and Minato will fight by your side until the end, Bethany-Chan" he replied softly. Bethany smiled slightly, but then frowned, "wait, what about your world- if you die here you won't be able to go home to your own village and times?" she asked, genuinely curious about that. The first Shodamine stared at the second Shodamine with a serious expression in his eyes that she'd only ever seen when he was fighting his worlds Madara, "I am also Hokage in my world Bethany, and if I couldn't even assist you in protecting your village, I would defiantly not be able to protect my own- not to mention I wouldn't feel worthy of being Hokage if I failed in that" he replied. When Bethany saw the serious look on her teacher's face she smiled, genuinely grateful to the man, "arigato, Hashirama Sensei" she said, with a single tear, this time of happiness falling down her cheek. Hashirama smiled back at her, "any time, Bethany-Chan".**


	19. Chapter 19

**The next day Bethany once again made her way to the hospital to visit Makoto, while having her Wood Clones do her paperwork. She was on her lunch break and had decided to visit the girl and see how she was doing today, also she had a bag of Gyoza as that was her sister's favorite food, and she thought it might be nicer than hospital food and cheer Makoto up. As she walked into the hospital, she went up to the receptionist, "ohayogozimasu, I'm here to visit Makoto Hikari Hyuuga, is she well enough to have visitors today?" she asked with a smile. The woman at the reception desk smiled brightly, "hai, she should be alright for visitors today Hokage-Sama, but just make sure you let her get plenty of rest as well, alright?" she asked gently.**

 **Bethany nodded, "hai, arigato" she replied cheerfully as she walked to her little sister's room. Once there, the brown-haired woman knocked gently on the door, "Makoto-Chan, it's me, can I come in?" she asked. Hearing a soft: "hai" on the other side of the door, Bethany slowly slid it open and smiled when she saw the 12 year old sitting up in bed, and looking slightly better than yesterday- at least her skin had a bit of pink to it instead of being the deathly pale it was before. "Ohayo, Nee-Sama, it's good to see you again" she said happily, if a little softer than normal. The young Hokage smiled and held up her bag, "I've brought some Gyoza for lunch, do you feel up to eating any?" she asked, while walking into the room and closing the door behind her.**

 **The girl grinned brightly, showing her teeth, "I would love to have some Bethany Nee-Sama" she replied enthusiastically. Bethany sat down on a chair next to the bed and took the food out of the bag. She handed one tray with chopsticks to her little sister and kept one for herself. Both girls sat quietly eating for a while, Makoto eating the meal slower than Bethany, before the older woman finished her food and placed the rubbish back into the bag. When Makoto had finished as well, she handed it to the Hokage and she put it with the other container to throw away later. Bethany sighed and placed her hands in her lap. Now came the choice- did she tell her Imoto about the coming threat and possible war, or did she wait until she was recovered but had less time to prepare herself mentally? Makoto, seeing the look on her older sisters face, frowned, and shuddered slightly. She hadn't seen that look on her leaders face since the war, "Nee-Sama, what's wrong?" she asked tentatively.**

 **Bethany sighed deeply and leaned back in her chair while closing her eyes, "you'd better get comfortable Makoto, this will take a while" she said solemnly. The girl on the bed could only frown in worry. What would the Hokage say? Whatever it was, it defiantly wouldn't be good.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **"** **She's** ** _here_** **and going to start another war!?" the lavender-haired girl exclaimed with fear. Bethany had just finished explaining about Kaguya and her intentions, as well as the fact that, due to the Dojutsu she'd described the day before, Bethany had reason to believe that it was her who had attacked the young girl. She nodded sadly, "hai, I believe so" she replied while closing her eyes. The Hyuuga began to shiver, they'd barely survived the last war and those who had, herself included had been left with noticeable scars upon their minds and hearts. It wasn't known if any of them would ever recover, and if what her older sister said was true, many more people would die in this next one, and everyone in the village, as well as the rest of the world would be imprisoned in a fake world full of fake versions of everyone they loved to have their Chakra drained out of them until they either died or became puppets for Kaguya.**

 **And if that wasn't bad enough, the woman they were facing, Kaguya Otsutsuki was as close to being a literal god as you could get! Makoto began to hyperventilate with fear at the sheer odds stacked against them. What would happen to them? Would they all be mindless puppets for the rest of their lives? Would they all be killed by having their Chakra drained? Or would they all be killed by the Rabbit Goddess before that time ever came? The little girl was now shaking with fear and had tears pouring from her eyes in terror. Bethany quickly wrapped her arms around her little sister in a comforting embrace, "shh, it's alright Mako-Chan, I promise I'll do everything in my power to protect all of you, and to save this world- we won't give up, right?" she asked gently, stroking the child's hair soothingly. Makoto sniffed, "h-hai" she replied softly, wiping her eyes on a tissue from her bedside table.**

 **Makoto, wanting a change from the depressing and dark atmosphere, smiled slightly, "so- how's the paperwork going?" she asked with a completely innocent smile on her face, while her eyes now sparkled with mischief, as well as the remnants of her tears. In response, the older woman just groaned and buried her head in her hands, "it's gotten even worse! Even though I'm using my secret paperwork eliminating technique, the work just keeps coming- at this rate, not even my Wood clones will be able to get it all finished within a day!" she moaned despairingly, while falling into one of the depressions that she and her teacher were both infamous for. The sight of her older sister and one of the strongest Shinobi in the village getting so upset about** ** _paperwork_** **of all things when she had faced down several dozen deadly opponents at the same time during the war, caused the young Hyuuga girl to burst out laughing.**

 **Bethany, becoming even more depressed from her younger sister making fun of her suffering, exclaimed: "it's not funny, damn it! I swear it's trying to kill me!" she cried with a crazy look in her eyes. This just caused Makoto to laugh harder with tears now forming at the corners of her eyes. Bethany mock-glared at the younger girls laughter and leapt on her, "I'll give you something to laugh about you little smarty-pants!" she grinned evilly and began to lightly stroke the child's neck and underarms, wiggling her fingers persistently under the delicate areas no matter how hard the other girl tried to shield them. Makoto burst into giggles and laughter as the older girl gently teased her sensitive spots. Bethany grinned at the squeals she was getting from her Imoto, "now what are you going to do Mako-Chan?" she asked teasingly, while continuing her tickle attack on her defenceless sister. "S-sto-ho-ho-hop! N-nee-Sa-ha-maaaa! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!" she cried.**

 **The brown-haired girl shook her head, "you'll have to beg me little sister" she replied, while lifting her right underarm up and blowing raspberries against the delicate skin. Makoto continued to squeal and laugh, as the tingly sensations spread throughout her body. She shook her head, trying to hold in her laughter, "n-n-ne-he-he-ver! Ah! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!" Bethany's grin turned from evil to wicked, knowing that her next move would make the child back down. She knew that the girl couldn't stand this. Releasing Makoto's arm and going back to teasing both Makoto's underarms with her fingers, Bethany leaned up and clasped her mouth over the twelve year olds neck. Through her laughter, the Hyuuga could feel her older sister's lips on her neck, and she began to panic, "no! plee-he-he-hes! No-ho-hot tha-ha-ha-ha-hat!" she cried while still laughing from the continuous tickling in her underarms. Taking a deep breath, Bethany alternated between licking and blowing raspberries on Makoto's neck, causing her to shriek through her laughter, "oho-ka-ha-ay, na-ha-ha-ha-ha, ple-he-he-he-heas, ha-ha-ha-have me-he-he-hercy Nee-Samaaaaa!" she cried, shaking her head desperately, with tears still clinging to her eyes.**

 **The young Hokage released Makoto then, allowing the child to get her breathing back under control and wipe her eyes. After she had calmed down enough to speak, the Hyuuga pouted, "that was mean Bethany-Nee" she proclaimed, sending a glare at her older sister. Bethany laughed at the face, "oh come on, it's not my fault you're so ticklish" she said teasingly. The older girl immediately regretted those words, as Makoto smirked and suddenly lunged forwards, successfully catching hold of her leader's sides with her hands. Suddenly** ** _her_** **most ticklish spot was being squeezed and stroked and Makoto was the one grinning evilly. "Nooooo! No-hot the-he-he-he siiiiiides! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!" she wriggled and writhed on the bed, desperately trying to escape from the smaller girls fingers, but Makoto was able to keep her hands latched in place. She laughed, "now you're the one who has to beg Nee-Sama" she told her sister as the Kage laughed uncontrollably, "ah, ha, ha, ha, I-hi-hi-hi woooon't!" she cried, trying to push the child's hands away, "stop! Stop! Sto-ho-ho-ho-oooop! Ha! Ha! Ha!" Bethany literally screamed in laughter, sobbing and laughing at the same time.**

 **"** **Pleee-he-he-hese, I-hi-hi-hi ca-han't take it!" she cried. "You know the wo-ords!" the Hyuuga said in a sing-song voice, while her leader cried with laughter. "Please, please, I can't!" Bethany laughed uncontrollably. Grinning like the devil, Makoto reached up with one hand while the other continued to torture Bethany's left side, which was her most sensitive. With her other hand, the young girl inserted her fingers under her right underarm, stroking, and stroking, and stroking- "nooooooooooo!" Bethany screamed- she felt like she was losing her mind, "no mo-ho! Ho! Ho! Ho! Re! Ga-ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!" she sobbed. All it took was particularly hard squeeze on a very sensitive part of her left side for her to give in: "mercy!" she shrieked, "mercy! Mercy! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Ple-he-he-he-hese!" she cried as the younger girl released her.**

 **The Senju curled up on the bed shielding her ticklish spots with her arms and hands, still giggling even now. Makoto smirked, "wow Bethany-Nee, you might even be more ticklish than I am" she said with a laugh while leaning back into her pillows. Both girls took a moment to calm down, and Bethany eventually sat up again. She looked her Imoto over, satisfied that she was once again alright, before grabbing the bag of rubbish and kissing Makoto on the forehead, "I have to go now Mako-Chan," she said. Seeing the child's disappointed look, she smiled, "don't worry, we'll find a way to make things work- as long as we don't give up and we work together" she told the girl, stroking her hair gently, before walking towards the door, "I'll see you later Imoto, you just get some more rest now, okay?" she asked with a grin. Bethany turned back to face Makoto as she reached the door. Makoto smiled slightly, "bye Nee-Sama, I'll see you later?" there was an underlying feeling of hope in the child's voice, and it caused the brown-haired woman to smile softly, "of course you will" she said and waved, to which the girl waved back, then Bethany left the room and closed the door softly behind her.**

 **They** ** _would_** **make it through this- of that she was sure now. Because they** ** _were_** **a family. All of them.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **The next day dawned with dark and cloudy skies. Bethany wasn't feeling too well. She wasn't sick, and her chakra's natural vitality and her strong life force negated her lethargy when it rained nowadays. So she didn't know what it could be. She sank into her bed and moaned as the storm rumbled outside. Suddenly a knock came at her door, "Bethany-Chan?" it was Hashirama, probably wondering why she was late for work. The girl moaned again as lightning lit up the sky. Bethany shook. For some reason, even though she had gotten over her fear of storms quite a few years ago, her weakened state caused her to tremble with terror once again and she couldn't understand why. The door to her bedroom opened and Hashirama walked in. He took one look at her and furrowed his eyebrows in concern.**

 **"** **Bethany-Chan, are you not feeling well?" he asked softly. Thunder rumbled and the girl turned her head away. The Shodamine walked over to her bed and sat down on the side of it. He placed his hand on her forehead, "you don't have a fever" he said with a frown. Lightning lit the sky and she shook under the covers. Hashirama raised an eyebrow, "are you afraid of the storm?" he asked quietly. Bethany shook her head, "I don't know, I haven't been afraid of storms for years and I don't get lethargic anymore when it rains due to my bloodline," she replied softly, "but for some reason, this storm is just making me feel really bad" she shivered and closed her eyes. The Senju leader tilted his head to the side, "if you aren't feeling well, then you should get some rest" he said quietly. Bethany shook her head as her body was wracked with shivers, "no, I have to get up, the village-" she was cut off when her teacher laughed slightly, "the village can last a day without you, though I can't say the same for the paperwork" he replied.**

 **Bethany turned her head away, "the hell spawn did this to me- I told you they were trying to kill me" she replied pathetically. Hashirama laughed outright at this, but quieted down when the girl winced and shivered again. The First Hokage from the Naruto world looked out of Bethany's bedroom window, watching the rain pouring down evenly from the sky. There was silence for a moment, before the man spoke up again, this time more quietly, "would you like me to sing you a lullaby?" he asked softly. Bethany blinked slowly, "huh?" she asked. Hashirama smiled gently, "a lullaby, one that my mother used to sing to me when I was afraid of storms, and one I also sang to my younger brothers after our mother's death- would you like that?" he asked again. The brown-haired girl stared at him for a moment, before nodding silently.**

 **The man smiled again and adjusted himself so that he sat more comfortably on the side of the bed, then began to sing in a gentle voice Bethany didn't know he possessed:** ** _"Little child, be not afraid, the rain pounds harsh against the glass, like an unwanted stranger, there is no danger; I am here tonight,"_** **the girl gasped slightly, this was- Lullaby For A Stormy Night by Vienna Tang. She'd never had someone actually sing this song to** ** _her_** **before, though she'd always liked it, ever since she'd found it.** ** _"Little child, be not afraid, though thunder explodes and lightning flash, illuminates, your tear-stained face and I am here tonight, and someday you'll know, that nature is so, this same rain that draws you near me, falls on rivers and land, on forests and sand, makes the beautiful world that you'll see, in the morning"_** **Bethany had never heard a man sing this song before, and even though it was originally sung by a woman, this song just seemed to suit Hashirama's voice, like he was meant to sing it.**

 ** _"_** ** _Little child, be not afraid, the wind makes creatures of our trees, and their branches to hands, they're not real understand, and I am here tonight, and someday you'll know, that nature is so, this same rain that draws you near me, falls on rivers and land, on forests and sand, makes the beautiful world that you'll see, in the morning,"_** **he paused to take a breath,** ** _"little child, be not afraid, though rain clouds mask your beloved moon, and it's candlelight beams, still keep pleasant dreams, and I am here tonight, and someday you'll know, that nature is so, this same rain that draws you near me, falls on rivers and land, and forests and sand, makes the beautiful world that you'll see, in the morning,"_** **he paused for a moment, possibly to take a breath, but by now Bethany's eyes were closed, so she didn't know,** ** _"for you know, once, even I, was a, little child, and I was afraid- but a gentle someone always came, to dry all my tears, trade sweet sleep for fears, and to give a kiss goodnight,"_** **he sang quietly, before he paused again then began to sing louder,** ** _"well now I am grown, and these years have shown, rain's a part of how life goes, but it's dark and it's late, so I'll hold you and wait, till your frightened eyes do close, and I hope that you'll know, that nature is so, this same rain that draws you near me, falls on rivers and land, and forests and sand, makes the beautiful world that you'll see, in the morning,"_** **another pause,** ** _"everything's fine in the morning, the rain will be gone in the morning, but I'll still be here in the morning"_** **he finished the last part so softly it was almost a whisper.**

 **Upon looking at his student again, he found her to be sound asleep, not even shivering when thunder rumbled through the sky. Hashirama smiled gently and pushed some of the girl's hair away from her forehead, "sweet dreams, Bethany-Chan" he whispered softly, before standing up and silently leaving the room.**


	20. Chapter 20

**The next day the storm had passed, and so had Bethany's lethargy. She sat up in bed and stretched while yawning deeply. Upon looking around, memories from the previous day settled in and she got up, deciding that since she was feeling better, she'd better get back to work. It was definitely a difference from the 'lazy, sleep all day if allowed to, not liking to do any work' Bethany from six years ago. Yes, there was no doubt that she had changed since then. After getting up and having a shower, the woman got dressed in her Hokage robes and went downstairs to get some breakfast. Not expecting anyone to be in, at least not at the moment, Bethany was slightly shocked when she saw all three of her Sensei sitting at the kitchen table eating sausage and pancakes for breakfast.**

 **She then smiled, "morning everyone!" she exclaimed cheerfully, while walking over to the table. Hashirama smiled, Tobirama grunted and Minato waved, "good morning" he said cheerfully. Bethany sat down and stared at the food hungrily. Even after eating other food before, after five years of noting but fruit and nuts, she still found other food to be almost a gift from the heavens. Hashirama laughed, "Bethany-Chan, the food isn't going anywhere until you eat it, don't worry, there's plenty for you" he told her, while fixing up a plate for the girl. He walked over and set it down in front of her, while Bethany picked up her knife and fork, "itaidakimasu!" she said happily, beginning to eat. She smiled happily as she ate- it was delicious.**

 **After breakfast was over, the woman placed her shoes on and walked to the door, "well, I have to get going now, ja ne!" she called back, waving as she exited the compound. The village was as lively and cheerful as ever. For now she pushed the thoughts of the coming war out of her mind and concentrated on the current joy she could feel flowing around her home. It was truly a beautiful thing, and she was glad that they could at least enjoy this time of peace, however brief it may be. Of course, with war looming on the horizon, Bethany knew she would have to inform the rest of her people soon, they needed to be ready, as the coming trials would be like nothing they'd ever faced before. As she walked, she hummed the words of her new favourite Japanese song, A Promise That Needs No Words. Even with the odds stacked so high against them, Bethany knew that as long as they all worked together, they would be able to save their worlds- she was sure of it.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **As she reached her office, Bethany waved to her secretary and apologised for not coming in the day before. The young woman shook her head, "oh no, its fine Hokage-Sama, you do so much for us every day, you deserve to take a break every once in a while" she replied truthfully. The young Senju smiled gratefully, "arigato" she replied, waving to the woman and walking into her office.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Three hours, four lots of thirty Wood Clones and at least eight huge stacks of paperwork later, Bethany sighed, glad that she had almost gotten through another day of the hell spawn relatively unscathed. The young Hokage grinned, praise Hashirama for inventing the Wood Clone jutsu! The woman turned to look out the window again, once again wondering how exactly she was going to tell the rest of her people about Kaguya and the coming war. They'd already been through so much, she didn't want to force them to fight again, but if they didn't they would suffer a fate worse than death, and she didn't want that for her family. Still, it was going to be hard. She could imagine the looks of terror on their faces when they learned what they were up against. A god. At least before they knew the exact threat that most of the adults posed- even with the other children, they still weren't that big of a threat.**

 **But Kaguya on the other hand- she was a being of just about limitless power. It took two other men of equal strength to defeat her the first time. And she couldn't seal the woman like Naruto and Sasuke had in the Manga, they didn't have that kind of power. It was defiantly going to be hard. No- hard didn't even begin to describe it. Bethany shook her head. What good would it do her to think these things? It would only end up making her feel depressed and hopeless again. She would have none of that. They** ** _would_** **win. They** ** _would_** **stop Kaguya. And they** ** _would_** **make sure that their dream didn't die. Bethany was sure that if they all worked together, everything would work out for the better eventually.**

 **Suddenly a knock was heard at her door. The woman recognised the Chakra signature immediately and smiled, "enter" she called. The door opened and Madara walked in. Bethany stood up from her chair and walked around her desk, "Madara-Kun! Where have you been? I missed you" she said, wrapping her arms around the man's waist and leaning her head against his chest. The Uchiha smiled apologetically, wrapping his arms around her as well and pulling her closer to him "Gomen'nasai, Bethany-Chan, I had some things I had to take care of, but I'm home now, and I hear a lot's been happening" he said gently. Bethany frowned at that and looked down, "yes, a lot has happened, and I have a lot to tell you Madara-Kun" she replied, letting him go and walking back to her desk with a sigh.**

 **Madara frowned. He had a very bad feeling that he wouldn't like what his girlfriend was about to say.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **The Uchiha stared at Bethany with wide eyes. He almost couldn't believe it. Kaguya Otsutsuki? The Rabbit Goddess and Ten Tails was** ** _here?_** **Looking at Bethany, he could see just how worried and afraid she was. How much she was hoping to be** ** _wrong_** **. But he could also see just how much she knew she was right, and how worried she was that they wouldn't survive the coming war. That everyone she cared about would die in front of her and that she would be powerless to stop it. Bethany Middleton was absolutely** ** _terrified_** **by the thought of Kaguya being in their world.**

 **She was even more afraid of losing everyone she cared about, no matter how much she told herself and had others tell her that it wouldn't happen. It was something that she simply couldn't bear the thought of without breaking down. Madara frowned at that and walked up to the girl he loved. He held her tightly yet gently, telling her through actions that he wouldn't give her up without a fierce fight. Looking up into the young man's eyes, the Senju could see nothing but unyielding determination and unbreakable will. She smiled, knowing that those eyes were reflections of her own that had come about due to her presence in the Uchiha's life. No other words of explanation were needed, they both understood the message perfectly:** ** _'I will always stand by your side- so please, don't ever give up on yourself, just like I won't give up on you'._**

 **It was something that Bethany would remain forever grateful for. Madara truly was everything to her. Her village was precious, but without Madara, it would just feel empty and dark. While her teachers could calm her fears momentarily, just Madara's presence alone could reassure her beyond words of a positive future full of light. Madara Uchiha was the light in the darkness of her self-doubts and fears and he would forever be her rock to support her. They would win, she was now sure of it.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Soon after that, Bethany explained the situation to everyone. They took it as she had expected. They panicked. After only a short amount of time living in peace, they were thrust into war again. And this time, it wasn't just their lives on the line. The entire world would be affected by this. If they failed, everything they'd worked for, everything they'd sacrificed would cease to exist, and would no longer matter. Even though they were terrified, none of them were willing to just sit back and let the world be destroyed. They were determined to see it through for the sake of the future generation of Chakra users- or rather, Shinobi, as they'd decided to call themselves. After all, they may as well be now.**

 **Bethany, seeing the resolve of her family to become stronger and save their world, smiled. She truly hoped that they would win. Well, they either would win, or they'd die trying- either way, they wouldn't just sit idly by and wait for the world to end. "I know we spent a lot of time fighting in the last war, and I also know that I swore that this village would be the end of that- but now that is not possible, because if we don't fight, everyone on earth will be trapped in a eternal Genjutsu, or the whole world may very well be destroyed," she paused and sighed, "I also know that this is a huge burden to place on your shoulders, and for some of us it won't matter if we win or not, because those people will die- though I will fight with all my strength to keep you all safe, I can't promise that I will be able to save everyone, but if we don't fight or we fail, a fate worse than death will befall those who do live. I may not like to even think this, because I see all of you as precious to me, as family, but if we win, those who do die will at least die knowing that they saved their comrades from something far worse," she paused again and stared at all of them in the eyes.**

 **"** **I won't say you have to fight if you don't want to, but if you do, just know that you** ** _do_** **have a reason to do so- we all do!" everyone was staring at Bethany with seriousness, giving the woman their full and undivided attention, "we fight for our family, for our home, for the future generations!" Bethany's eyes shone with unwavering determination, "as long as we never give up, the village will never truly be destroyed! As long as we all share one will to protect our comrades, our family- as long as we never allow that will to break, even in death, our home will always stand tall! Who will stand beside me?!" she called. All at once a unanimous cheer went up among the people, even the Shinobi's families, who hadn't known their Hokage for very long, could feel the strength of her will and her determination to protect them. Bethany stared out among her people, her eyes reflecting her will to protect them, and she knew that whatever happened next, weather good or bad, everyone would give their all to protect this world.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **In an unknown location, a woman with very long white hair, white eyes with a third eye in the center of her forehead and horns on her head stood alone. This eye was red with many rings around the pupil, and nine tomoe upon the rings. She had delicate facial features and horn-like protrusions coming from out of her forehead and she stared out at her new world. It was a lot like her old one, she decided, even down to the wars that plagued it. But, she would soon put a stop to those. She would be the one to bring peace. Another thing that she noted, was the presence of people all around the world who possessed Chakra. She did not know how they came to have possession of her original power, but she would soon take it back, as was her right. With her special jutsu, she would be able to reclaim the Chakra these humans possessed and bring peace all at the same time. And what better way to bring peace, than to give every person the purest desires of their heart.**

 **They would simply sleep in a world of perfect dreams, where everything they want most is a reality. Whether it was the return of loved ones, a world of peace, or simply living with the one they loved most of all and never losing that person. They would have it all, and wasn't that such a lovely future to look forward to? Like her old world, this new one was like a nursery, and the humans had only been corrupting it. With the completion of her Infinite Tsukuyomi, all humans would live in eternal bliss for the rest of their lives, and she could return this world to what it was meant to be, before becoming its new goddess. Yes, she, the Rabbit Goddess, Kaguya Otsutsuki would be the savoir of this world- this 'Earth'.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Since Bethany's announcement of the coming war to her people, the peaceful atmosphere had predictably shattered. The Shinobi who were under her command were once again tense and worried, walking around as if they were standing on glass, and one wrong move could shatter it. Most of them were training hard every day, with Bethany and Madara among them. Makoto had just recently been discharged from the hospital, but even she was working on her stances, the power behind her blows and the jutsu she'd acquired from her Byakugan. Though she had been instructed to take it easy, she still trained as much as she could.**

 **Madara worked on his elemental manipulation, having discovered that not only did he posses the Uchiha's signature Fire Nature Chakra, he also held the Wind Nature. Minato had given the boy a scroll with several Wind Style jutsu and Chakra control techniques on it, and he was currently trying to come up with a combination jutsu that he could use with his two natures. Bethany had been using her Wood Clones to not only deal with her paperwork now, but also to train. While she knew that the mastery of her Sage Mode was essential, she also wanted a few more battle related jutsu under her belt before the war with Kaguya started. Okay, so she wanted a lot more jutsu, but it wasn't overcompensating when your enemy was a God. She was also preparing to go and meet with the worlds governments in a bid to convince them of the danger they were in, and ask them to help. She only hoped it would be enough to save them all.**

 **It was decided that, like last time, Hashirama would accompany her while Tobirama, Minato and Madara would stay behind to keep an eye on the Village. Right now, she was inspecting her appearance in the mirror. She wanted to make sure she presented a good first impression to everyone, and not one of some kind of savage. There was a knock on her bedroom door. Bethany walked over and opened it, to see Hashirama standing their waiting. He smiled, "are you ready to go?" he asked. The woman nodded, "as ready as I'll ever be" she replied. Bethany was once again wearing her Hokage robes to the meeting, along with the headband with the Senju crest on it around her forehead. Hashirama was wearing an outfit that some of the younger Shinobi had made for him as well, after all, he was their leaders Sensei. It was reminiscent of the outfit he wore casually as a child, but bigger to fit his larger size.**

 **He wore a dark kimono shirt, a short light green jacket with darker green linings, a white scarf around his neck, traditional pinstriped kimono pants of his clan, and a dark green sash around his waist. On his feet was a pair of blue Shinobi sandals and around his forehead he wore a white headband with his clan crest on it, like Bethany. He also had the Senju crest on the back of his shirt and jacket. Bethany smiled, "well, it seems my subordinates have a sense of humour" she said, upon seeing the man wearing a copy of his childhood outfit. Hashirama laughed slightly, "well, you have to at least give them credit for the authenticity of the appearance of the outfits, when Tobirama saw me, he was so shocked he looked like he had turned to stone!" Bethany burst out laughing at that, so much so that she was holding her stomach, "now that's something I would pay to see- Tobirama Sensei, shocked? Seriously?" she asked through her laughter, while wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.**

 **The Senju leader grinned again, "yep, he was, I wish I could have taken a picture to show you Bethany-Chan, but if I did that, Tobi would probably skin me alive" he replied. "Ah, well, at least we can say that one of us got to see it during our lives" Bethany said, still snickering slightly. The two Wood users looked at each other, before they burst into renewed laughter, Hashirama supporting himself by leaning on the wall, and Bethany supporting herself by leaning on him. "What are you two doing? You have to get going soon" said a familiar voice from behind them, interrupting their laughter. Both turned to see the man they were just talking about standing behind them with a frown on his face, his trademark expression. The two stared at him for three seconds, before laughing again. Tobirama's frown turned into a scowl, "what are you laughing about?" he asked, annoyed. Bethany and Hashirama just continued to howl with laughter, occasionally pointing at him.**

 **Scowl deepening, the Nidamine Hokage formed several hand signs, before a stream of water coalesced in the air and shot at the two Shodamine Hokage. Now thoroughly soaked, the two brown-haired Shinobi spluttered and stared at the white-haired man in shock. Tobirama simply crossed his arms over his chest, "I hope that's helped to cool you two hyena's down- you're going to be late you know" she said stoically. Bethany glared at him, "what the hell, Tobirama Sensei! Now look at what you've done! we can't go to the meeting like this!" she exclaimed. Even Hashirama was glaring at his brother, "Tobirama, you do know that these clothes were a gift, right?" he asked dangerously. The younger man closed his eyes and shrugged, but on the inside he was sweating. His older brother was probably the only man he actually feared, aside from his worlds Madara of course. The last time he had seen his brother looking at him like this was after his and Madara's first large battle when he was going to kill the man. The sight of those eyes was enough to halt him in his tracks and make him shiver in terror.**

 **Suddenly Hashirama grew massive while Tobirama shrunk to the size of an ant. The background turned dark and lightning flashed behind the man. The Nidamine was now sweating profusely, and just praying to get out of this alive.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Bethany and Hashirama stood on the outside of the gates of the Village, while everyone else stood inside them. Many of the Shinobi were shouting farewells and safe wishes, even some of the parents, who by now had seen and heard enough about Bethany from their children to trust the woman completely were calling out to her and asking her to stay safe. Bethany waved to all her people, thanking them for their words and bidding them goodbye. Minato, Tobirama, Madara, Makoto and Paul stood at the front of the group. "Take care of her Anija" Tobirama said with his usual impassiveness. Hashirama grinned, "of course, but I think she can take care of herself now" he replied.**

 **Minato grinned brightly and ruffled the girls hair, "I know you'll be able to convince them, Bethany-Chan, don't worry, but stay on your toes, politics is a tricky business" he said cheerfully. Bethany nodded, and groaned slightly, "yeah, I know- and so damn complicated too!" she whined, anime tears falling from her eyes. The Yondamine chuckled at that, while the girl turned to Madara, who had a slightly worried look on his face. Bethany smiled and walked up to him, before giving the man a kiss on the lips. When she pulled back, she was blushing faintly, and even the Uchiha had a light dust of pink on his cheeks, "I'll be fine Madara-Kun, I'll be back before you know it," she said softly. Madara nodded, now with a small smile on his face, "I know you will, Bethany-Chan- just be careful" he replied softly, returning her kiss with one of his own.**

 **The woman smiled, "take care of Konoha, for me, okay?" she asked, to which he nodded, "always" he replied seriously, making Bethany smile wider. Turning to Makoto, the Hyuuga girl had a small amount of tears at the corners of her eyes, "you will come back, won't you?" she asked a little fearfully. The Senju knelt down and wrapped her arms around her second little sister, "of course I will, geez, you're all acting as if we're going to war already" she said, chuckling slightly. Makoto held the older girl tightly, "come back Nee-Sama, you're the only family I have left" she said pleadingly. Bethany smiled as she held the girl, "I'll always come back, this is where my family is after all" she replied softly. Pulling back slightly, she grinned, "now, where's that smile?' she asked, tickling the girls neck slightly. The Hyuuga giggled and grinned up at her older sister, "their it is!" she chuckled, while Makoto fake-pouted, "meanie" she replied. Bethany's grin widened, "oh, I'm the meanie now, am I?" she asked teasingly.**

 **Makoto grinned, "yep, you're a meanie, and you have a really bad sense of direction for someone who designed and built the village, I mean seriously, you're what- super old now- I thought old people were supposed to be wise and stuff" she teased. Bethany fell into a depression at that, sitting on the ground with her arms wrapped around her knees and her face buried in her arms, "I'm not old, I'm only 22, and it's not my fault that I have a bad sense of direction!" she moaned. Then she looked up at her younger sister, "w-why do you have to be so mean to me?" she whimpered pathetically. Madara spoke up then, "because you're so easy to be mean to!" he called from where he stood, while the girl went into a deeper depression, "why me?" she sobbed, as anime tears flowed down her face.**

 **Everyone in the crowd laughed at that. Soon Bethany stood up again, "well, I guess I'll see you all soon" she said, turning away from the village gates. Everyone once again called out goodbye's while waving. Bethany waved back, before turning forward and nodding to her teacher. Both Senju Shinobi then leapt into the trees, vanishing from sight. Everyone soon went back to the village, while only the two Hokage, Middleton, Hyuuga and Uchiha were left. Madara especially stared in the direction that his girlfriend and her teacher had gone,** ** _'stay safe, Bethany-Chan'_** **he thought.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Bethany and Hashirama traveled through the trees at a fast pace. Hashirama turned to his student as she began speaking, "when we get out of the forest, we'll travel along the beach until we get to the road-" she paused, then turned to look at her teacher, "um, you don't happen to know the way from their do you?" she asked, sweat-dropping slightly in embarrassment. Hashirama sweat-dropped as well, "yes, don't worry, I have a good memory for directions" he replied. Bethany sighed in gratitude, "arigato, I'd hate for us to get lost before such an important meeting" she said, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.**

 **The two were silent then, leaping through the trees until they finally reached the edge of the forest. When they got out in the open, the two Senju jumped down onto the sand, and began running Shinobi style, with their arms out behind their back to increase their speed. As they dashed across the beach, Bethany couldn't help but close her eyes as the wind blew through her hair. Hashirama looked at the girl, "are you nervous?" he asked. The young woman opened her eyes and stared ahead, "would you blame me if I said yes?" she asked quietly.**

 **The Senju leader looked forwards again, "not really, the first time I had a meeting with the other Kage's I was nervous too, especially considering if I made even one wrong move it could end up leading to war between all our nations, which would be even worse than the war between the Senju and Uchiha, because it wouldn't just be two clans fighting, it would be everyone, and it all rested on my shoulders," the man shuddered, "in truth I was terrified out of my mind" he said seriously.**

 **Hashirama smiled sheepishly, "and it didn't go well, initially everyone kept arguing about petty matters and it didn't look like we would get anywhere," he laughed slightly, while Bethany listened intently. She had seen this on a Naruto Shippuden episode, but hearing about it from the man's mouth directly was something completely different, his words held a far stronger meaning than just images on a screen, "in the end I laid my head down on the table and begged everyone to work with me, and they agreed" Hashirama smiled, "I was overjoyed that everything was coming together at last, I was finally making progress on our dream of bringing peace" he turned to look at her, "and I know that if I can do it, you can too Bethany-Chan- right?" he asked. Bethany grinned back, "hai! I'll do my best!" she said determinedly. The older Senju smiled, "I know you will Bethany-Chan, you always do" he said happily.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Soon enough, the two Mokuton users reached the place where the meeting would be held. Hashirama looked up at the large building. It's outward appearance wasn't very impressive, being just a cold, stone building, but he still hadn't seen the inside yet, so he would reserve his judgement for later. "Well, here we are, Bethany-Chan," he said, looking over at his student, who was staring determinedly at the building, "you ready for this?" he asked softly. Bethany, though still having some doubts, was determined to make this work- for the sake of the world. She nodded, "hai Sensei, I am" she replied, clenching her fists by her side with a hard look on her face. No matter what happened from here on out, she had to make this work, somehow.**

 **Taking a deep breath, Bethany entered through the large doors with her teacher by her side.**


	23. Chapter 23

**The two walked down the corridors of the building, heading towards the room in the center. When they reached it, Bethany took a deep breath to steel herself and pushed the doors open. Inside the room, she found the leader of the government she and all the others had fought during the war, as well as several other people that she didn't recognize. When the doors opened, everyone turned to look at the newcomers. What they saw made most of them frown, while a few others smirked in amusement at the sight before them. One of the leaders, an arrogant looking man with greyish-brown hair and blue eyes stared at her haughtily, "what are you doing here brat? Who are you? We don't have time for games, so why don't you and your Daddy run along" he said impatiently.**

 **In response to the man's rudeness, Bethany frowned slightly, "so I'm a brat am I? I didn't know that that's how you would treat the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village when she called you here on a matter of urgent business" she replied and walked over to her seat. Most of the adults then widened their eyes in realisation as to exactly who this seemingly innocent child was. But someone didn't get the message, "you, the oh-so-great 'Hokage' we've heard so much about? Please, you couldn't be it, and even if you were, the stories about you must be so far exaggerated that they actually think you could be powerful- hah! As if a child like you could be the leader of an entire village!" the man scoffed. Bethany raised an eyebrow and simply released the restraints on her presence. The chakra was so dense it was visible as a green aura around the girl and it caused her hair and clothes to fly about her in the invisible wind that picked up around her.**

 **Cracks began to form on the ground on which the brunette stood and the air itself became heavy with her power. Suddenly, just as quickly as she had released it, Bethany reeled in the mass that was her Chakra and the air returned to normal, with her hair and clothes settling themselves. The girl slowly walked over to her seat with Hashirama following. Bethany sat down and folded her hands together on the table, "now that I've shown you a small portion of my power, will you listen to me?" she asked gently, looking at each of the leaders in turn. All of them nodded, not taking their eyes off the small girl in their midst. Bethany smiled brightly, as dust fell from the ceiling due to the unsettlement of the area, "good, now we can get on with business" she said cheerfully. No one spoke, they just stared at the girl, causing her to sweat-drop slightly, "um, it's okay for you to speak you know" she said. Another of the men coughed slightly, "yes, right, well, um-" he trailed off, looking at her expectantly.**

 **Bethany, for a moment didn't know what he was waiting for, but then Hashirama elbowed her gently, "your name, Bethany-Chan, you never gave them your name" he whispered in her ear. The girl's eyes widened and she looked towards the other leaders sheepishly, "I'm sorry, I was just informed that I never told you my name," she said, chuckling slightly, while rubbing the back of her head. She then cleared her throat, "my name is Bethany Middleton Senju, but for convenience, you may forgo my first Surname and simply address me with Senju if you like" she said with a smile. Everyone nodded, "well then, miss Senju, what is the matter you wish to discuss with us?" the other man asked. Bethany then became serious, "right- the matter for which I asked you here today is one of the utmost importance- what I am about to tell you will most likely sound like a fairytale to you, but I swear on my life and my people's lives, it is the truth," she once again looked each of them individually in the eye, her demeanour allowing no room for dismissal.**

 **All of the other leaders unconsciously sat up straighter under those eyes. They all nodded, showing that they understood the seriousness of the coming information. Bethany sighed and once again told the story of the rabbit goddess and her two sons, leaving out the non-essential parts about Hagoromo's children and their descendants. For now all that mattered to the future of the world, was Kaguya and her plan. When she was finished, everyone was shocked speechless. Most of them didn't even know of anything they could possibly say that would be relevant and not just re-asking questions that had already been answered. Finally, one of them spoke up, "but, this woman, Kaguya- she only wants Chakra, right? If you are the only ones with Chakra, why should this bother us?" he asked. The others all nodded, thinking the same thing or along similar lines. Bethany closed her eyes, "because, even if you haven't awakened it, everyone in this world possesses Chakra- just like everyone in Sensei's world possesses chakra," at this, she gestured behind her towards Hashirama, who nodded silently.**

 **Kaguya aims to trap every person, Shinobi and civilian alike in the Infinite Tsukuyomi, placing them in an illusionary world with fake versions of everyone they know and care about, slowly draining them of all life-force and Chakra they possess. This world, while the victim is trapped in it is a perfect copy of the real one, and includes the victim's deepest desires and purest wishes, making it a seemingly perfect "dream world". But this jutsu has negative effects on the ones trapped inside- by draining the humans of their Chakra, they become literally empty shells, puppets for Kaguya to control and use as she sees fit, while causing those creatures who were once human to live forever- truly, this is a fate worse than death" everyone looked shocked and horrified by this information- no one knew what to say or even what to think.**

 **There was silence for a moment, until Bethany spoke up again, "so, that is Kaguya's plan- now that you know, what do you intend do?" she asked seriously, "will you ignore our plight, one which involves the whole world, or will you stand with us, and help us stop Kaguya?" she stared them down, waiting for them to answer. Hashirama stood behind his student, watching her and her interactions with the world leaders. He could tell that despite the woman's strong attitude, she was desperate for this to happen, for the Infinite Tsukuyomi to be stopped- she couldn't bear the thought of living in a fake world like that, let alone becoming mindless puppets under Kaguya's thumb. And as a matter of fact, neither could he. The world leaders turned to one another and whispered to each other for a moment, before turning back to Bethany, "we would like some time to think about this Hokage-Sama, do you mind waiting?" the main one spoke.**

 **The young woman nodded, "that's fine, but please, time is of the essence, so could you do so quickly?" she asked. They nodded, and stood, "we will reconvene in an hour, until then, why don't we take a break?" another man asked. Bethany stood up as well, "alright, that should give us enough time to stretch our legs and have something to eat" she replied. Then they all left the room to do their own thing.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Bethany and her teacher sat outside the building where the meeting was taking place, eating their lunch. The woman turned to her Sensei, "Hashirama-Sensei, what do you think they'll decide to do?" she asked, a slight tone of worry in her voice. The Senju leader took a sip of water from the bottle he held with a thoughtful look on his face, "I don't know, Bethany-Chan, but I hope they'll decide to work with us" he replied. Bethany nodded, "so do I" they ate their food in relative silence after that, occasionally saying something or making a guess about something, but other than that, both were quiet.**

 **The young woman let her thoughts wander back to her village. How was everyone? Was Makoto alright? Was the paperwork piling up again? Were they being attacked? Ah- no, she shook her head to rid it of those negative thoughts. She was sure they were all fine. Most of them were all Shinobi, and if they couldn't protect themselves, they had Madara-Kun, Tobirama Sensei and Minato Sensei there to protect them as well. She had other things to worry about at the moment, the village and her people were all fine, and if they did end up needing them, they could just use the Flying Thunder God markers she kept in her office or her house and she could just teleport them home- easy. It was strange, five years ago she never would have thought this was possible, especially not for someone like her- as she was a normal girl.**

 **Now though- everything had changed,** ** _she_** **had changed. She considered it both a blessing and a curse, since she never did want to fight in any war, or kill anyone. And yet she had, many times. Even if she rationalised it with things like:** ** _I had to do it to protect my precious people,_** **or,** ** _it was for the sake of peace_** **, she knew those things were only excuses. Bethany knew that she would always try to avoid war between her village and the rest of the world, but in this case she could no more avoid it than she could walk on air. For everyone she cared about. If she had to forgo her own morals, and fight in war once again, then so be it. She would do anything to keep her family and home safe. That was what it meant to protect. That was what it meant to be Hokage, was what Hashirama Sensei had told her once.**

 **Bethany sighed again, and started to hum the tune to the thirty-third Naruto Shippuden ending, "A Promise That Needs No Words" by the group Sana. She didn't know the words yet, but she knew the tune well enough. She really, really hoped this would work out, for all their sakes.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **An hour had now passed, and Bethany and Hashirama were heading back to the meeting room to discuss what would happen now with everyone else. She couldn't say she wasn't nervous, what would they have decided? As the two Shodamine Hokage's entered the room, they saw everyone already there and waiting. Bethany bowed profusely, "g-gomenesai! we didn't mean to keep you waiting" she said, panicking slightly, not knowing how long they'd taken to get back, as time management had never been one of her strong points. The main leader held up his hand, "it's alright Hokage-Sama, we just got here ourselves, you're not late" he replied placating her fears.**

 **Bethany sighed in relief, "well that's good news," she said with a smile, moving to take her seat, "may I ask what you've decided to do?" she asked, once she had sat down. The main leader smiled slightly, "we've decided to join you in your efforts, but you'll have to give us as much information on this "Kaguya" person as possible so we can plan an effective strategy" he said. Bethany gasped, eyes shining with hope, "You will? Oh thank you! Thank you!" she cried gratefully. Hashirama smiled as well- this was going much better than they feared, and as well as they'd hoped. "Alright, well, here's what I know," Bethany then began detailing Kaguya's abilities, and the fact that one of her main weaknesses was Nature Chakra, and by extension, Sage Mode, which was why she'd tried so hard to decrease the time it took to enter Sage Mode, and increase the time period she was in it for. "So, you and Hashirama here intend to use your Sage style jutsu in an attempt to keep the woman at bay, is that right?" the other leader asked.**

 **Bethany nodded, "hai, we do, we're hoping that we can provide enough of a distraction for the others to attack her at the same time- of course, such a simple strategy is bound to be fairly ineffective against someone of her strength. So we'll need you as back up as well- just be careful around my people, I don't want them getting hurt or killed unnecessarily" she explained. The man nodded, "well, that's understandable, I'd guessed that you'd want to protect your fellows as much as possible" he said, but raised an eyebrow when he saw the young woman shaking her head, "did I miss something Hokage-Sama?" he asked curiously. Bethany folded her hands together in front of her, "my people are more than just my fellows, Rida-San, (Mr Leader) they are my comrades, my friends, my family! That is why I won't allow then to die if I can help it- no matter what happens I will protect our home- our village. I- like my Sensei believe that protecting the village is the best way to protect people, Shinobi, and children…! Anyone who tries to harm it, whether they are my friends, siblings or my own children…," her eyes grew darker, and the very air seemed to freeze over, the other men shivered, both at the feel of the atmosphere and the look in the woman's eyes. They were cold, and deadly, "I won't forgive them" she said darkly.**

 **Suddenly Bethany sighed and closed her eyes, "forgive me, after everything that happened, I suppose I'm a little overprotective, aren't I?" she asked, laughing while rubbing the back of her head sheepishly, as the dark aura disappeared almost as fast as it had come. Most of them were too shocked to speak, but the man who had fought the young Shinobi for years just shook his head, "not at all Hokage-Sama- in fact I think your desire to protect your comrades, your 'family' is inspiring, and we could all learn from you" he replied with a smile. Bethany was slightly shocked for a moment, but that soon fell away and was replaced with a warm smile, "arigato-" she paused for a moment, and stared at the man. He slapped his forehead, "oh, stupid me- all those years spent fighting you and I never even told you my name" he said sheepishly.**

 **The man smiled, "it's Cain, Bethany-San". The female Hokage smiled again, "arigato, Cain-San" she said happily. The female Senju held out her hand, "well, it will be a pleasure fighting alongside you instead of against you, Cain-San" she said happily. Cain just nodded and leaned over the table, taking the woman's hand and shaking it, "same here, I hope we win, Hokage-Sama". Bethany shook hands gladly, "don't hope- as long as we believe in ourselves and each other, hope will become reality- we** ** _will_** **win Cain-San, I'm sure of it" the other man- the one who had insulted Bethany before raised an eyebrow, "hey!" he said as the girl released the other leaders hand and sat back down again. She turned to him curiously, "yes?" she asked. "You say you're strong, and- sure, maybe that display you put on at the start of the meeting was a little impressive, but I want concrete proof that you're as strong as you say".**

 **The girl tipped her head to the side in curiosity, "okay- like what?" she asked. He pointed at her, "show us what you can do- if you can prove that you aren't all bark and no bite, then I might believe you're not just some little kid with a fancy trick" he said, crossing his arms. Bethany slowly smiled a small smile, "well, okay then- forgive me, I don't know your name either?" she paused. The man lifted his chin, "Riley" he said simply. She nodded, "arigato, Riley-San- if you want a demonstration I'll be happy to give you one," Bethany stood up once again, "follow me please, I'll need some work-room to do this" Bethany calmly walked out of the room with a smile on her face, with Hashirama by her side and everyone else following behind her. Cain, who knew exactly what the girl could do from fighting her for so long smirked,** ** _'oh, you're about to eat your words Riley'_** **he thought to himself while inwardly snickering at the thought of the look the other man would have on his face when he saw** ** _just_** **what Bethany could do.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Bethany stood in a clearing in the forest near to the building. The other leaders stood behind her, while Hashirama stood a little way away. Bethany was standing with her chin in her hand, thinking about which jutsu she could use. Suddenly she gasped and a bright smile grew on her face- she knew which jutsu to use. She formed the hand signs Tiger, Ram and Snake, "Mokuton: Deep forest Emergence!" In seconds another huge lush forest had formed from out of the ground. Bethany smiled, she loved knowing that she'd created something this beautiful with her own hands, (literally) it was a feeling that she couldn't fully describe, something wonderful. Turning back to face the people behind her, she saw most of them gawking at the forest she had grown from the ground. Well, everyone except for Cain of course.**

 **Hashirama just smiled at her, proud of her strength. Bethany grinned at them, "so, what do you think- am I some little kid with a fancy trick?" she asked the man who had said it- though her tone of voice held no malice in it. He had the decency to look sheepish, "ah, well, no- I guess not" he replied, rubbing the back of his head. Bethany grinned, "don't worry, deception and having the enemy underestimate you is a good skill for a Shinobi, but right now I need you all to trust me, okay?" she asked. Everyone nodded, still staring at the trees behind her with awe on their faces, "it's- beautiful" one said breathlessly. The woman turned back to look at her forest with a happy smile, "yes, I think it is too" she replied quietly.**

 **Hashirama came up and placed his hand on the girls shoulder. Bethany smiled at him, to which he grinned back.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Eventually after much more planning and deliberation, the group decided to meet back up in a few days to discuss other things about the war. Right now, everyone had to get home to prepare- and to warn those who didn't already know. As Bethany and Hashirama prepared to leave, the other leaders saw them off, "we'll do everything we can to stop that bitch, Hokage-Sama" one of them said. Bethany grinned, "arigato, we won't let her win!" she proclaimed, doing a thumbs up. As they were ready now, Hashirama held his students shoulder as she formed the hand sign for the Flying Thunder God jutsu. In a flash of white, green and brown the two vanished.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Upon returning to the village, everyone wanted to know what had happened. An answer that was given with a simple: "the governments of the world have decided to help us in the war against Kaguya". A great cheer went up among those gathered, and the tense air mostly dissipated, to be replaced by relief. Bethany hoped they would be able to stand under the weight of the coming threat, for all their sakes. Too soon, the people of the village were preparing themselves for war, readying their weapons and fortifying their homes, for what little good that would do if the Eye Of The Moon Plan was achieved. In her house, Bethany was currently placing self repairing seals on her weapons, clothes and armour.**

 **As she worked, she simply stared ahead with a grim look on her face. So- they were going to war again. Bethany looked around at her house and sighed deeply. They had spent so long on the battlefield. Maybe not that long in the eyes of war veterans like Hashirama and Tobirama, who had spent their whole lives on the battlefield, or even to Minato, who had gained such a fearsome reputation that an entire village feared him. But to everyone who had fought and lost friends and family members in that war, it had lasted for far too long, and now- she sighed again and sat down on the side of her bed as she had come into her bedroom. This was** ** _not_** **what she and Madara had wanted when they'd agreed to build this village together. Bethany leaned back and closed her eyes. She could remember that day vividly in her mind's eye, despite her atrocious memory for some things:**

 ** _*Flashback*_**

 ** _Bethany was shocked, staring back at her were two nearly matured Sharingan eyes, two tomoe in each eye slowly spinning around the pupil. The girl didn't know what to say, while the boy simply smiled sadly. Sighing as he deactivated his eyes, the boy sat down beside her and turned to look forward again, "if only- if only there was a place in this world where we could truly belong, somewhere we could all be safe, weather we posses Chakra or not," he sighed again, "if there was, I could protect my brothers there, and we wouldn't have to worry about having to fight, kill and die in a war like this one- but there's not, and there never will be" he said sadly. Bethany was silent, thinking, "well," she said softly, "if there isn't a place for us in the world, why don't we just make our own" the boy turned to her, shocked, "what I mean is- we can create our own home, our own place to belong, a village, where people like us can live without worry of being used as weapons- can live as they like and can choose whether to fight or not, and they won't be looked down upon should they choose not to" she explained._**

 ** _The boy scoffed, "that's stupid, you can't possibly do something like that" he said simply. Bethany hung her head, with a cloud of depression hanging over her, "do you really think my dream is that worthless?" she asked, upset. "No matter how strong you are, one person can't build something like that all on their own," he paused, "that's why I'm going to help you" he said softly. The brown-haired girl's head snapped up instantly, staring at the black-haired boy with wide eyes, shock written all over her face, "that dream of yours doesn't sound bad at all, and if it does become a reality, I could protect my brothers their and we'd finally be safe," he turned to look at her, "so, I'll help you fulfil your dream, I won't stop until we create that village together, because now your dream is my dream too," he said and stood up with a grin, as he held out his hand for her to grab. Bethany smiled softly, as she accepted his hand and he helped her up, "may I know the name of the person I will be creating a village with?" he asked, as his grin widened._**

 ** _"_** ** _My name's Bethany Middleton, it's nice to meet you" she said happily. The boy's smile softened, "it's nice to meet you too, my name is Madara Uchiha- do you mind if I call you Bethany-Chan?" he asked. Bethany blushed fiercely, "sure, Madara-San" she said. Madara grinned again, "there's no need to be so formal you know," Bethany looked away, "o-okay, Madara-Kun" she replied softly. The sun rose as the two new friends held each other's hands and smiled at each other._**

 ** _*End flashback*_**

 **This village had been their dream and her deepest wish from even before she was dragged into the war. Sure the support that she'd received from everyone around her had helped her to remain strong during the years of fighting- but it had been the dream they'd shared of creating this place, their home that had truly allowed her to endure all that she'd had to do. The hope of ending the war, of creating a place for them all to belong in this world where she could protect them and keep them safe was all she'd had to hold on to some days- the reason she'd even fought in the war was not only to keep her promise to her Taicho, but because she'd decided to do whatever she had to do to achieve their peace- to endure for the sake of her dream, like Hashirama had before her.**

 **Now, if they didn't fight, both them and it, would all be destroyed- and that was something that she couldn't allow to happen, no matter what she had to do. For their dream. Bethany looked resolutely out the window, where her image was beginning to be carved into the cliff face above the village. She stood by her convictions and again swore that she would show no mercy to anyone who threatened her home or her people. Both were as precious to her as her own flesh and blood family and she would give her life to protect them if she had to. She turned her attention back to what she was doing. They would succeed. Or they would at least die knowing that they had done everything in their ability to save their world. Of that she swore.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Madara meanwhile was also in his house preparing himself. As he donned his armour yet again he swore to himself that he would do everything he could to save this world from Kaguya's twisted plan. For his home, his people, his clan, his brothers and most of all- for Bethany. The woman he loved the most. The young man's face hardened into a look of determination as he strapped his sword to his hip and his Gunbai and scythe to his back. Madara stared resolutely out the window. His Sharingan eyes scanned over the village- the place that had now become his home and the place that he loved with all his heart, memorizing every detail.**

 **He would not fail- and if he did, he would fail knowing that he did not fail without giving it his all first.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Paul Middleton didn't know what to think. His daughter had just ended one war and finally gotten some peace along with everyone else after years of fighting with the rest of the world, and now she was forced to fight again. Why? Why her? Hadn't she already sacrificed enough? Lost enough? Why did** ** _she_** **have to suffer so much? Bethany was a deeply caring and compassionate girl, one who would do anything for the people who were precious to her- even if it meant fighting in war to protect them. Yes, she always did what she could to protect her family, even if she had to suffer for it. She was just that kind of person- selfless and kind. Willing to abandon even her own morals to keep them all safe. And wasn't that such a good thing? Paul sighed. He no longer knew how to feel. If he should be angry at his daughter for participating in something so obviously dangerous, sorry for her pain at having to fight in war or proud of her will to protect all these people.**

 **As Bethany's father and having known her for 22 years, even if she wasn't around for five of those years, he liked to think that he knew the girl pretty well. But participating in war was definitely** ** _not_** **one of the things that he expected her to do. The Bethany he knew would sooner chop off her own arm than fight in war. But it seemed as though during those five years they spent apart, his daughter had changed in ways he never imagined to be possible for the girl. Now, although she was still kind, compassionate and caring- the girl he used to know had changed immensely. Now she was a Shinobi, with a determination to do** ** _anything_** **to protect her people, which was not as good as you might think. Well, maybe not** ** _anything_** **, but a lot more than she would have done before. Bethany Middleton was now Bethany Middleton Senju, and despite her will and caring attitude, Paul knew that- should the situation ever arise, she would even kill one of her own flesh and blood in order to protect her** ** _new_** **family. He just hoped that day never came.**

 **Slowly looking up at the sky, he let out a deep sigh. War was coming and he didn't know what to do. He wasn't strong enough to fight yet. After all, he'd had to improvise his training after his daughter and the three Hokage had disappeared, and he didn't know if he'd even be able to protect anyone. He was basically just a civilian with Chakra, like Sakura. Except Sakura had been trained by an exceptionally strong Kunoichi while he hadn't been trained by anyone. He had no idea what to do, damn it! The man frowned, what** ** _could_** **he do? Suddenly he looked up with a gasp. Hashirama! Bethany always went to the man for advice or just to talk to him about her problems or thoughts. He knew that she trusted the Senju leader completely, and, well- why couldn't he? Hashirama** ** _had_** **trained her for the last five years after all, he had to have** ** _some_** **credibility, otherwise his daughter wouldn't have so much faith in the man. Having made up his mind, Paul began to make his way to the Senju compound.** ****

 **He knew the way by now, and could safely navigate Bethany's village on his own. That was one difference between himself and his daughter. He was good with directions while she was- well, pretty much hopeless with them for the first few tries at going anywhere by herself. That was one of the reasons he was so surprised that she actually knew where anything was in this place. Though, he supposed that she** ** _had_** **helped to build it- so it was only natural that she'd at least know** ** _some_** **of the village fairly easily. As he walked, Paul noticed that a lot less of the children, young adults and parents waved to him, instead choosing to hurry along their way. He guessed the thought of fighting in a second war affected everyone, and it was harder to be cheerful when you had the threat of facing something much stronger than anything else you'd ever imagined looming above your heads. Shuddering at his own thoughts, the Middleton sped up until he was travelling at a slow run.**

 **Soon he could see the Senju compound sitting before him in all its glory, but he took no time to marvel at the beauty of the compound or the tranquillity of the atmosphere surrounding it. He was here for a reason and he would damn well fulfil what he'd come to do. Steeling himself, Paul walked up to the door and knocked. After waiting for a moment, the wooden door stirred and slid open. The man breathed a sigh of relief when Hashirama opened the door. Tobirama still made him nervous, but the Shodamine was someone he felt safe with. The original wood user smiled, and it instantly calmed the dark-haired mans nerves, "Konban wa, Paul-San, what can I do for you today?" he asked cheerfully. Paul nodded to himself and spoke with a lot more strength in his voice than he felt: "forgive me, Shodamine-Sama, I know you are probably very busy with training Bethany and your own duties, but I have come to humbly beg for your assistance" he said. Hashirama laughed, "calm down, it sounds like you've been practicing this" he said with a bright smile.**

 **The Middleton sighed and released a deep breath, "I'm sorry, I just- all of this has just been a bit much for me- I'm, trying to adjust, but its hard Shodamine-Sama" he said as he looked down. Hashirama's smile softened, and he stepped aside, "would you like to come in? I've just made tea?" he asked. Paul looked up quickly, "but, I wouldn't want to intrude, I mean, I've only been here once with Bethany and I don't really know-" he was cut off by the man holding up his hand to stop him, "it's no trouble at all, after all, I've spent so long with your daughter, I figured despite knowing me from the anime, you'd also like to know a bit more about me in person" he closed his eyes and tipped his head to the side slightly in a closed eye smile, "please?" Hashirama asked softly. Paul looked slightly torn, but nodded, "well- I suppose it wouldn't hurt to relax for a while" he replied softly, following the Second God of Shinobi into his clan compound.**

 **Being in the presence of such a powerful man made the other unconsciously stand taller and walk with a more purposeful stride while at the same time feeling very humble from his strength and shrinking back slightly. The conflicting feelings that Paul felt from Hashirama left him very confused and unsure, while also confident and calm. It was, hard to understand but he found that even so, no matter what other feelings he felt, the overwhelming feeling of calmness and reassurance that emanated from Hashirama's 'light' so-to-speak was enough to allow him to understand a little more why his daughter was so close to this man. As they reached a simple looking house, Hashirama led him inside, graciously allowing him to enter first and closing the door after his guest. Once the two were in his study with a pot of tea brewing, the Shodamine Hokage of the Naruto world clasped his hands together on the desk in front of him, "so, tell me what's on your mind" he said, but not in a commanding tone, the way he said it made it sound more like a suggestion than a demand.**

 **"** **Ah-" the older man faltered.** ** _What_** **exactly did he come to say? He hadn't really thought beyond: come to the Senju compound and talk to Hashirama because he seemed so good at helping people with their problems. He had no real** ** _thoughts_** **to talk about. He hadn't thought that far ahead really. Realising that the Senju leader was still waiting, Paul flushed and looked down, "ah, w-well, um-" he fiddled with his hands, feeling more stupid than he ever thought possible. This incredibly powerful man had taken time out of** ** _his_** **day to talk to him and he didn't even have anything to talk to him about! Fortunately, the Shodai seemed to understand his plight, for he began to speak again, "well, I can tell it has something to do with the war- correct?" he asked softly. The Middleton froze for a moment before slumping in defeat and nodding mutely. Hashirama nodded as well, "I see- are you worried about Kaguya, or the Infinite Tsukuyomi?" he continued gently. The purple-haired man nodded again, while keeping his head down. "Are you afraid of her, because of her power?" he asked. Paul began to nod, stopped then shook his head slowly.**

 **"** **You're not afraid of her power-" he paused, and the man nodded, "you are afraid of her power, but not for yourself?" Paul nodded again, and bit his lip. "You're afraid of Kaguya, not for your sake, but for your daughter's?" he inquired questioningly. This time the man just stared at his lap, while slowly clenching his fists around the folds of his pants. Hashirama nodded in understanding, "ah, I see now- you're afraid that you won't be strong enough to support Bethany-Chan and everyone else- right?" he hedged gently. This time Paul clenched his eyes shut while his fists shook as they held his pant legs. Suddenly feeling a gentle hand be placed on his shoulder, the man looked up at The Nidamine No Kami No Shinobi (the Second God Of Shinobi). He had a warm smile on his face and his steady hand on his shoulder was very comforting, "don't worry- you will become as strong as you need to too protect everyone precious to you, and as for Bethany- while it is a parents job to protect their children, it is also a parents job to have unwavering faith in their children- Bethany-Chan will be fine, and even if she's not, she will never be alone, understand?" he asked.**

 **Paul, who now had small traces of tears running down his face, wiped his eyes and nodded, "hai- arigato, Hashirama-Sama" he replied with a small smile on his lips.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Paul eventually decided to stay in the village and protect those who couldn't protect themselves, the civilian families and those children who no longer wished to fight- i.g the younger ones. He still wasn't confident of his abilities to fight, and he wanted to do more training while in the village, so that's what he did. He trained heavily in Tai-jutsu and worked on his Kekke Tota, Light Release. He may never be as powerful as the three Hokage, hell- he may never be as powerful as his** ** _daughter_** **, but, no matter what, he was still a Shinobi, and he** ** _needed_** **to be able to at least protect** ** _some_** **of his people. That's why he was currently working on his core abilities in one of the many training grounds that Bethany and Hashirama had built in the village.**

 **It was amazing what the two of them had built together- even if it was the Shodai that had built most of it since at the time Bethany had still been learning the jutsu. Paul chuckled at the memory of his daughter describing how her first attempt at the Four-Pillar House jutsu went. A mutated human-house was what she had said it looked like, and from the expressions of slight horror on her and Hashirama's faces at the time, it must have been some horror-show attempt. Still, it was incredible now. She really had made the dream she'd shared with Madara a reality, hadn't she? And now all of it was being threatened by Kaguya. No- not just Bethany's village, the entire world was at risk. And he wanted- no, he** ** _needed_** **to help. He was useless to his daughter before, but now he wouldn't just be dead weight anymore. No, this time he would stand by Bethany's side, even if it was only in will.**

 **While it was hard to accept, Paul was sure that Bethany knew what she was doing- more than he did at least. So he would remain in the village and protect everyone while Bethany fought on the front lines to protect them. Because, after all- he was also a Shinobi as well, and he would damn well protect his new family with everything he had- just like his exceedingly brave and strong daughter. He** ** _would_** **. He had to.**


	25. Chapter 25

**It had now been a few weeks since the first leaders meeting to discuss about the Kaguya situation, and it was now time for Bethany and Hashirama to go meet them once again to plan their battle strategy. She** ** _really_** **hoped Hashirama could help her with this, because, honestly- she had no idea what to do, not this time. It was probably the stress, she reasoned. Bethany had always had a bit of a brilliant streak, but she'd never thrived under pressure. Yes, she'd come up with some clever thoughts or wise insights before. Hell- she'd even managed to come up with some brilliant strategies during the last war that had saved most of, if not** ** _all_** **of her people. But right now, she was coming up with a blank.**

 **This was a** ** _lot_** **more significant than just them. This time, it wasn't just their lives on the line, but everybody's. This war was being waged for the sakes of everyone, and she refused to let them down- not after all the trust they'd put in her. It would be hard, of that she was certain. But there was another thing she was certain of. Bethany Middleton Senju was absolutely sure that if she gave up now, everything would have been for nothing. That the lives of everyone who'd sacrificed themselves during the last war would all be for nothing. That the sacrifices made by those who still** ** _lived_** **would have been for nothing. And that was even worse than the deaths being made obsolete were. Because it was those of them who still** ** _lived_** **who were the ones who suffered and endured for the sake of this world- for the sake of their peace. And she absolutely** ** _refused_** **the let those sacrifices, the sacrifices of** ** _her_** **comrades and** ** _her_** **family be in vain. It was an unthinkable option. So she carried on, enduring for that which was precious to her and standing up for her dreams- wow, she really** ** _had_** **become like Hashirama Sensei, hadn't she?**

 **The thought made her grin widely and chuckle slightly in happiness. Hashirama was the one person, besides Madara-Kun of course, who she admired and trusted the most. She was glad to be like him- flash-depressions and all. But still. The thought of more war weighed heavily on her heart, dragging it down into a deep darkness. She may act like she always knew what to do, but that was just because her experiences had taught her a great deal of things. What situations required seriousness, and which needed to be softened by a light heart. How not all people were the same or could be trusted, with some being such that it would be** ** _impossible_** **to negotiate with them. They had taught her to be strong in the face of adversity and to do what she had to for the sake of those who were precious to her, because if she didn't then they would most likely die. Yes, she was by no means a genius, achieving greatness simply by** ** _being._** **No, Bethany Senju knew that everything she had now, she'd gained through sheer hard work and determination.**

 **But none of those experiences really covered how to go about** ** _surviving_** **much less** ** _winning_** **a war on this scale. Bethany sighed deeply. She truly didn't know what to do, and that worried her almost more than the approaching threat did, because in truth- she** ** _did_** **know what the new threat was, or at least she hoped she knew. But actually** ** _figuring_** **out what to do was very much different from understanding the threat. It was unnerving that she knew next to nothing about Kaguya herself, and yet they were somehow supposed to defeat her and come out with most of their people intact? Bethany sighed deeply. Who knew being a leader could be so complicated at times. Despite the weight of the position, she was glad to have it. She supposed it could be attributed to her natural desire to protect** ** _everyone_** **\- even a former enemy.**

 **That was just the way she was. Bethany knew that friends could become enemies very easily. I mean, look at Hashirama Sensei and Madara-San. Or Naruto and Sasuke. But when enemies became allies, it was that much more important to protect the bonds that had been made between them. Otherwise things could turn really bad really fast. Of that, she knew for certain. In that sense, things really were simple in a way. As long as you trusted your allies and friends- no matter who they once were or had changed into, the bond you shared between you would never break. It was only when** ** _distrust_** **and fear took over that things spiralled out of control- as had been the cause for many broken bonds in the past.**

 **It was- somewhat strange if she thought about it. She was never one for such deep philosophical thinking. But that was before and this was now. Even before the three Hokage had come into her life, she'd had her moments- short bursts of insight where she would come up with something that would astound her peers. But now- it was as though an entirely new array of thought processes now occupied her mind, stemming from her interactions with the teacher she was the closest to. Hashirama had opened her mind to all of this, partly with his meditation exercises to help control her new power, and partly due to his own philosophical insights that brought out her innate curiosity. Now she found herself thinking about things like these more and more often. It was hard not to, what with the threat of a world war possibly breaking out.**

 **Bethany sighed deeply. The war was, possibly, the most worrisome thing on her mind. No, it** ** _was_** **and she was deeply concerned about it. While no longer as afraid as she had been before, she still worried about her people and the rest of the world concerning the war. She-no,** ** _they_** **couldn't let Kaguya win, they** ** _couldn't!_** **If they did then a fate worse than death would befall them all, and no matter what, she** ** _wouldn't let that happen!_** **She still trained like crazy, writing down every Mokuton jutsu she learned into her scroll, and she hoped beyond hope that all her training and cooperation with everyone else would be enough, otherwise- they were screwed. "Hokage-Sama!" a fairly young voice called out from behind her- one that was very familiar. Turning around, Bethany saw the three boys that she'd had as spies during the first war coming up to her. The oldest, Ren, waved at her, "Hokage-Sama, we've got some information for you" he said. Bethany snapped into leader mode, "Alright, report" she ordered. The second oldest, Kam, spoke up then "apparently, this Kaguya comes from the time before she was sealed by Sasuke and Naruto, and she also has her full power, strangely enough- I don't really understand it, but what I do know is that she is planning to complete the Eye Of The Moon Plan in this world" he explained. Bethany frowned, "though I don't doubt you are the best spies in out village at the moment, I have to ask, exactly** ** _how_** **did you come about this information without being killed?" she asked.**

 **The youngest, Nami, spoke up then, "I used the Hiding Like A Mole Jutsu and suppressed my chakra signature. I didn't see the woman, but there was this black thing that looked like it was talking to itself, but I could hear another voice, a women's, except there was no one else around Hokage-Sama" he explained. Bethany frowned deeper and crossed her arms while thinking, "I see, so Black Zetsu is here as well and is gathering information for Kaguya- I should have guessed- after all, where else would she get all her information from?" she muttered to herself quietly. Kam furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "Hokage-Sama?" he asked. Bethany looked up and smiled gratefully, "thank you for all your hard work you three- I couldn't be more grateful, especially when it's something this dangerous" she said. The three brothers couldn't help smiling back, "of course, we would do anything to help you Taicho- after all, if it weren't for you, the three of us wouldn't be together now" he said with a smile.**

 ** _*Flashback*_**

 ** _(Three years and five months ago)_**

 ** _Ren sat with his younger brothers in the hideout. It had been two years since the war started and one year since Akito-Taicho's death. They, like many of the others, still missed the older boy, even now. Despite the fact that Akito's next appointed leader did her best to care for them, they still felt that Bethany Middleton Senju wasn't as good a leader as the other boy had been, though they didn't complain. After all, she did do her best to protect everyone- but they just felt like it wasn't enough- although she fought the hardest for their sakes, it just wasn't the same. And it was painful._**

 ** _Nami looked up at him, "Ren-Nii, do you think this war will ever end?" he asked. Ren looked down at him. The silver-haired boy stared up at him with wide, scared eyes. Ren sighed and brushed a strand of his long red hair out of his face, "I don't know Otouto, I really don't know" he replied sadly while wrapping his arm around the boy and pulling him closer. Kam, who had short spiky hair that was half red and half silver curled into himself, "but what do we do if it doesn't?" he asked quietly, "if Bethany-Taicho can't end it then what will happen to us- will we become slaves? Will we all die?" he asked, panicking slightly._**

 ** _Nami gasped and tears came to his eyes. Ren pulled the small boy closer, "don't say that Kam, everyone talks about how Bethany-Taicho wants peace more than anything- she's even planning on building a village where we can all live safely with our families" he explained. Nami's eyes widened with excitement, "really Nii-San, do you really think she'll be able to do it?" he asked. Ren nodded, "I do, but first-things-first, we have to create some kind of peace treaty with the enemy, so that the fighting between us will stop". Kam's eyes narrowed slightly, "a peace treaty- just like that? What about getting revenge for our families and friends who were killed in the war? We can't just let them off like that!" he exclaimed angrily. Nami curled up tighter in his older brothers arms, while Ren's own eyes narrowed, "no Otouto, revenge isn't the answer, don't you remember what Taicho told us? That the desire for revenge will only continue the cycle of hatred and make things worse?" he asked._**

 ** _"_** ** _Yeah, but-" Kam was cut off by a light cough to get their attention. All three boys looked up to see Hashirama standing over them. They knew that Hashirama was the First Hokage in the Naruto world, and one of the most powerful Shinobi of all time. But they also knew that he was the closest out of the three Hokage to their new leader. The Shodamine smiled, "may I join you?" he asked gently. The three boys looked at each other, before Ren shrugged, "sure" he said quietly. Hashirama smiled gratefully, "arigato" he replied, sitting down next to Kam. There was silence for a moment, before the man spoke up again, "so-I hope you don't think I'm being rude, but I couldn't help but overhear the conversation you three were just having- you seem to be divided in your opinions, and I've found that the best way to overcome that is to talk about it with an exempt third party- would you like to talk?" he asked softly._**

 ** _Ren frowned then sighed, "Shodamine-Sama, you're Bethany-Taicho's closest Sensei, right?" he asked. Hashirama scratched the back of his head, "yeah, I guess- why?" he asked curiously. The three boys looked at each other, before Nami spoke up, "does she really want peace, or is that just something to keep us from giving up?" he asked desperately. The Shodamine smiled, "yes, Bethany-Chan desperately wants this war to end and to create your home, she hates the fighting more than anything else" he said sincerely. Nami's eyes exploded with hope, "really? Really? And she'll do it, she'll bring peace and make a home for all of us?" he asked, in the way only an over-excited child could. Hashirama laughed, "of course she will, she swore to herself to endure for the sake of her dream, after all" he said happily. Kam began to speak then, "but- we've lost so many in this war, so many friends, brothers, parents, all of them dead- is it really worth it to make a treaty with people who don't care about us at all, and what about making them pay for all the other children they've killed- how can we just forgive them for that?!" he asked, slamming his fist onto the ground angrily._**

 ** _Hashirama frowned. Kam reminded him of Itama with his hot-headedness, but Nami also reminded him of his baby brother with his kindness and bright eyes. "Kam-" a calm voice called, but it also held a hint of warning within it. The silver-haired boy looked up and flinched. His red-haired brother was glaring at him with a look that could freeze water, but the younger boy didn't dare look away. "If we continue to hate our enemies like that, it will only make things worse and cause the war to continue for an even longer period of time, that's what Bethany-Taicho said, and she is right, understand?" Ren asked in a dangerously calm voice. Kam nodded hurriedly and the older boy sighed, releasing his brother from his glare. Suddenly Bethany ran in, "the enemy is on the move again, this time they're attacking from the west, where our lookout is thin, get ready to move out!" she exclaimed._**

 ** _As the girl rushed off, the three boys stood up quietly. "Hey," Kam whispered, "did you see her eyes?" he asked. Ren nodded, "she was- terrified and, determined at the same time" he breathed. All three stared after their leader for a moment, and then ran off to get ready for battle._**

 **** ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 ** _Kam slashed through his enemies as they attacked him, dodging their strikes and retaliating swiftly. A few meters away, he saw his older brother clashing against a few different enemies with his katana. He himself was using a tanto against his attackers. Suddenly a terrified yell drew his attention away from his own battle. That was when he saw Nami on the ground with a behemoth of a man about to sever his head from his shoulders. "No!" both he and Ren yelled, attempting to reach their younger brother, but blocked by enemies on all sides. Both boys could do nothing but watch helplessly, as the weapon came down towards the terrified form of their baby brother. Suddenly a kunai whizzed past Nami's attacker, and in a flash of brown and red, Bethany was standing there with her sword outstretched and a cold look on her face._**

 ** _The man fell to the ground an instant later, and Bethany turned to face the smaller boy. "Are you okay?" she asked, helping him to stand up again and handing him his sword. Nami nodded quietly, "hai, arigato, Bethany-Taicho" he replied. The brown-haired woman nodded and vanished in a flash of brown and red._**

 **** ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 ** _After the battle, Ren and Kam rushed up to their younger brother, "are you okay Nami?!" Ren demanded. The boy nodded, "I'm fine Nii-San, Taicho saved me" he replied. Both boys pulled the younger into a hug, "oh thank god!" they exclaimed, tears coming into their eyes. Kam sniffed, "I-I've decided," he said. Ren and Nami looked at him questioningly, "from now on, I will follow wherever Bethany-Taicho leads- I will stand by her side no matter what" he said tearfully. The other two nodded. From now on, their lives belonged to Bethany- and they would do whatever it took to end this war alongside her._**

 ** _*End Flashback*_**

 **Bethany's smile softened, "even so, you didn't have to risk your lives like this and yet you have, over and over and over again- if it weren't for** ** _you_** **none of us would be here, so thank you, really- I truly appreciate all your hard work". The three boys all smiled back, glad that they could at least repay their leader in part for all she'd done for them.**

 ****


	26. Chapter 26

**Bethany and Hashirama were once again sitting in the meeting room, discussing plans for the coming war. The other world leaders, with Riley and Cain among them were adding their own points, or asking questions occasionally, but it was clear to everyone that the two Mokuton users were the most knowledgeable about the coming threat. "Kaguya was the first person to have Chakra, after eating the Shinju's (Divine Tree's) Chakra Fruit, and she used this power to stop the many wars going on in her world at the time," Bethany explained, "eventually, she gave birth to twin boys, one named Hagoromo, the other named Hamura. Time passed, and the two boys discovered that they'd inherited their mother's Chakra, and became the strongest people in the world aside from Kaguya herself.**

 **In an attempt to connect all the people of the world, Hagoromo came up with a religion that he called Ninshu. These teachings were meant to guide the world into harmony and peace by spreading Chakra to everyone and connecting them, making each and every person equal to each other," she paused, everyone listening intently. "When their mother found out what her sons had done, along with the fact that they had inherited her Chakra, she became enraged, merging with the Shinju to become a monster known as the Ten Tails. Using her new power, she was able to use the new eyes she'd gained, the RinneSharingan, which would one day come to be known as the Eyes Of God to cast the infinite Tsukuyomi on the world" Bethany explained. Everyone was silent for a moment, before Riley spoke up, "so, that's what she's going to do here- cast this, Infinite Tsukuyomi jutsu on our world and steal our Chakra while we sleep?" he asked. The young woman nodded, "that's about it" she replied.**

 **Cain spoke up then, "but we can stop her, right? I mean, Hagoromo-Sama and Hamura-Sama were able to stop this woman, weren't they?" he asked, only slightly panicking. Bethany sighed and folded her hands together on the table in front of her, "both of them were regarded as gods in their own rights, and the reason they were able to stop the Ten Tails was because they sealed her Chakra inside Hagoromo and her body inside a sealing stone- the construct that would become known as the moon. However-" she paused and stared at them with a serious gaze, "we have neither the power nor the ability to copy them, so I really have no idea what we'll do" she said with a frown. Everyone sweat-dropped at the girl. Really, was she trying to make them feel better or even more hopeless than before?**

 **Bethany took a breath, "even so, even if we're completely out-classed, I won't give up- I won't let that bitch win, even if I die- I'd rather die fighting for the sake of my precious people than spend the rest of my life as a chakra battery inside a fake world until I become a mindless drone for Kaguya" she said completely seriously. Everyone felt themselves sit a little straighter at her words. Bethany's face hardened, "I will do what I have to do to protect those precious to me, even if I die- I will die knowing I did everything I possibly could!" she exclaimed. The depressing atmosphere dissipated in the presence of the girl's conviction, and suddenly everyone** ** _believed_** **in the girls words. There was silence for a moment, before a voice called out from all around them:** ** _"_** ** _well, well, well, look what I've found,"_** **everyone shot up at the sound of the voice and looked around wildly.** ** _"_** ** _You really think you'll be able to beat mother? You should just give up now- after all, even if you do fight, all that'll end up happening is that you'll lose more of your 'precious people' and you'll die, if you give in now, mother will make sure everyone you love is with you in your own personal dream world, where everything is just how you want it- it'll all be perfect, isn't that wonderful!"_** **it exclaimed.**

 **Bethany growled lowly, "what makes you think we'll just** ** _hand over_** **our chakra and** ** _let_** **ourselves get trapped in some fake world?" she hissed at the voice.** ** _"_** ** _Ah, ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!_** **_You really think you'll have a choice, your Chakra belongs to mother, and she_** **will** ** _have it back!"_** **the voice cried, laughing insanely. Cain glared around, "who are you? Show yourself!" he exclaimed. Slowly, a black human shaped figure rose out of the table in front of them. It only had two yellow eyes and no other distinguishing features. "So, Black Zetsu, you've shown yourself at last," Bethany hissed, her hand tightening around her kunai that she had in her pouch, "I think I speak for all of us here when I say my reply to your** ** _'mothers' kindness_** **is something even she will understand: FUCK YOU, ASSHOLES!"**

 ** _"_** ** _He, he, well, no matter, she will have your Chakra one way or the other, and if you want to sacrifice yourselves for no reason, then that's your decision- but never fear, for those of you who survive the coming war, mother will reunite you with your loved ones in the infinite Tsukuyomi- you should be grateful for her generosity"_** **Bethany smirked, "you really are stupid, but I'll reiterate so that the message gets through to that thick head of yours- FUCK YOU ASSHOLES!" Black Zetsu began to sink into the table once again. Hashirama whipped a kunai out of his pouch and threw it at the dark construct faster than anyone could see, but it was already gone. Bethany's eyes narrowed, "bastard" she growled. She turned to the other leaders, "well, does that convince you of the reality of this threat?" the young woman asked. No one spoke, but they all nodded, now sure that they didn't want that jutsu to be cast.**

 **Cain walked over to the wall where Hashirama's kunai had become lodged. He attempted to pull the weapon out, but the small knife was stuck fast. The man walked over with a smile, "it's alright Cain-San, I've got it," he said, effortlessly pulling the kunai out of the wall, "thank you for the thought though" he replied happily. Bethany sat down along with everyone else, "so, plans?" she asked.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Since they had little to no real idea on what was going to happen, their main plan was to ready their forces for a large scale war against the Goddess in the near future- they could not hold anything back, or they would die, they all knew that much. Back in the Leaf village, everyone was training like crazy- literally. Even the adults had begun trying to unlock their Chakra. The frantic atmosphere was starting to grate on Bethany's nerves, in a different way from how the tense atmosphere had, so that she was dead tired by the end of the day. Well, at least she now knew for sure that Kaguya was their enemy, but that didn't help the overwhelming odds stacked against them.**

 **Everyone spent even more time preparing for war. Stocks were counted and rationed, food supplies were gathered and the village was being more heavily fortified than before. This time the tenseness in the village was so strong even the civilians could feel it. It was as if the very air was charged with energy and heavy, so that no one could relax. To Bethany it felt very much like how she was when it was overcast, but the sky was sunny and cloud-free, the exact opposite to how everyone felt. In fact the mood was even darker than it had been during the first war. At least they weren't completely blind anymore. They knew Kaguya was here, and they also knew for sure that the war was coming. Bethany exchanged letters frequently with the other leaders via Minato's Toads and so she knew that the preparations were going well on their fronts as well. The only condition she had for the governments of the world was no bombs.**

 **Other than that she gave them permission to use whatever weapons they deemed necessary to help them fight, as long as they were carful of her Shinobi of course. They'd met a few more times so that the young Hokage could inspect which weapons they intended to use and give advice on which she thought were the best ones to use in the war. Guns were alright mostly, as long as they all had targeting scopes to make for less accidents. Swords, daggers, scythes and all manner of other weapons were brought in for the Shinobi to use, as they really only had a limited number of them in the first place. Bethany got herself a new sword, a samurai's Shogun Katana, and after a few lessons, was able to acclimatise herself with her new weapon.**

 **Madara decided to stick with his Gunbai and Scythe, and he also kept his own sword as well. Several of the other Shinobi mainly chose simple swords, as that was what they were most used to using. It was a long few weeks until the war started, but they all knew that once it did, there was no going back until they either won- or lost.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Bethany sat with her three Sensei inside the Senju compound. While Minato wasn't technically a Senju, he was her teacher as well, and as the only one of them who wasn't related to them, Hashirama had decided to let the man stay. It had only been about three weeks since the war was announced, but it felt like years and now that the preparations were mostly complete, all they could do was wait. Bethany found herself increasingly nervous, despite everyone's attempts to distract her from the impending threat to the world. It was hard for her** ** _not_** **to worry, but she still did her best to remain optimistic about it.**

 **To take her mind off the soon to be present future, she spent more time with Madara when she wasn't training. The piles of paperwork in her office had been completely ignored, as she had neither the time or the patience to deal with them at the moment, but she was sure that once the war ended she'd be swimming in paperwork for the rest of her life, or at least the next 20 years. The thought was enough to send shivers up her spine, as she wasn't sure even her Wood Clones could complete it all as it was now, never mind** ** _after_** **however long the war took. Bethany sighed. Minato looked at her questioningly, "what's wrong, Bethany-Chan?" he asked. The girl hung her head, "oh nothing, just wondering how long I'll be buried alive for after the war" she replied, depressed. Hashirama laughed, "I'm sure you'll be able to complete your paperwork, Bethany-Chan" he told her cheerfully.**

 **She sunk into an even deeper depression, "easy for you to say- I'm the one who has to do the damn work!" she sobbed. Suddenly Bethany calmed down, "hey, do you guys want to hear a song I know?" she asked happily. The three Hokage looked curious, well, at least Hashirama and Minato did- Tobirama just looked as impassive as ever. The First and Fourth Hokage nodded, while the Second just crossed his arms and closed his eyes, in the now known to be the 'do whatever you want, I don't care either way' pose. Bethany smiled and began to sing: "did you know, I am a pioneer, I'm out on a secret mission, I travel the galaxy, and far beyond," she started slowly, the soft piano music playing in her head.**

 **"** **Can't you see that I am a pioneer, unlocking the greatest mysteries, my key is a fearless heart, so pure and strong, people laugh when you are a pioneer, not walking the straight and narrow, they tell you the way things are, they swear you're wrong. You can't be a hero hiding underneath your bed, got to live the life, you create inside your head, so I opened the window, caught the wind, one, night, now I sail with the birds, in their flight," She sung faster now, pausing momentarily to take a breath then kept singing, "if you're tired of everything, come hitch a ride with me, you'll cry out with joy, when you realise you're free, it's a trip like no other for your heart and mind, leaving all but the future far behind- some will say, you're safer here, never mind them- be a pioneer! Can't you see that you are a pioneer, not one of the endless talkers, who tell you the same old rules you've heard before- I can tell that you are a pioneer, you want to be facing danger, not happy to hide your big dreams any more- you are a pioneer, the same as me," Bethany paused to take breath.**

 **"** **You can't be a hero hiding underneath your bed, so we'll live the life, we've created in our heads- we'll wake up, every morning in a whole new place, on a road, reaching out into space, some will say, we're safer here, never mind them- we are pioneers! Hand in hand, we'll journey as pioneers, unlocking the greatest mysteries, don't listen to anyone who say's we're wrong- they can't stop you when you're a pioneer, for truth is your greatest weapon, out there in the cosmos where we both belong- a place for pioneers, like you and me! Through the ages we will be pioneers! we'll go out on secret missions! We'll travel the galaxy and far beyond! It's our destiny to be pioneers, we'll always be moving forward- our courage is what we will be counting on- we will be pioneers, forevermore!" As she finished the song, Bethany smiled at her three teachers, "well, what do you think?" she asked happily.**

 **Hashirama grinned, "it was awesome, Bethany-Chan!" he exclaimed with a thumbs up. Minato nodded, "it was a cool song" he said happily. Tobirama shrugged, "it was alright" he replied quietly. The girls smile stretched into a grin, "heh, arigato" she said quietly. Slowly the sun sank low on the horizon, and, just for that moment, there was no fear, no pain, no bitter future of war, death and suffering ahead. All there was, was contentment and peace, if only for a single moment.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **After that, the time seemed to fly by, while at the same time creeping slowly from day to day. It was partly a relief and partly a pain to wait, but there was nothing else they could do. Everyone was as ready as they could be, and the wait was the least of their worries. It was like the calm before a storm, or when sitting in the eye of the storm. The lack of any action was beginning to drive everyone insane, but they bore with it, knowing that it would be the last reprieve they had for a while. They should enjoy their peace while it lasted after all. As they didn't exactly know when the war would start, it was hard for them to prepare effectively, but they still did their best to be ready for that moment, when it came.**

 **From the message exchanges she had had with the other leaders, Bethany knew that they were ready as well, waiting, just as the Shinobi of Konoha were. Even if she didn't want to think about it, war was now imminent, and, no matter what she did or didn't like, it was either fight for their freedom or end up trapped in an illusionary world with fake versions of her family and loved ones. As much as Bethany loved the idea of a war free world, a fake one was most defiantly** ** _not_** **what she wanted, nor was she just going to accept being trapped inside one while her Chakra was slowly drained until she became a mindless pawn for the Rabbit Goddess. Hell would freeze over before she accepted** ** _that_** **as something good. Still, there was nothing she could do about it until it happened, and if she did end up dying, at least she could say that she fought till the very end to stop the Infinite Tsukuyomi from being completed.**

 **The war would be coming soon now- very soon-.**


	27. Chapter 27

**It was decided that all the civilians from Konoha or otherwise, would be relocated to secure facilities around the world in order to keep them safe, as would the world leaders who had no experience in battle. Once the plan was made, it would be handed over to individuals who had the knowledge, ingenuity and intelligence to implement and improve upon it as the situation demanded. Not a very effective strategy, but good enough for what they currently had to work with. It turned out that Cain had a few children and or young adults who possessed the Yamanaka Clans Ninjutsu, and he set them up to transmit and relay information through the forces. People who were considered geniuses from around the world were gathered in an amazingly short amount of time. They were the ones who would come up with the plans, and give them the information they needed to win.**

 **Military forces from every country on the planet were also brought in, some to help with the fighting, while others guarded the civilian cities, though Bethany didn't tell them that if their enemies plan succeeded, then it wouldn't matter** ** _how_** **many people were guarding everyone else- they would** ** _all_** **become trapped in Kaguya's jutsu. Their forces now numbered in the Millions- even so, what good were numbers against a god? Clearing her mind of those thoughts, the Senju decided that it would do her no good to be thinking negatively, especially not in this case. They were many and together they were powerful. She only hoped that it would be enough.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 ** _(Unknown location)_**

 **The white haired woman, known to some as Kaguya Otsutsuki, and to others as simply the Rabbit Goddess, watched the earth from her own dimension. Soon, it would be time to begin the Infinite Tsukuyomi and free this world from it's corruptness. Yes- very soon.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **After getting all the civilians into the safety shelters, all the Shinobi headed off to the rendezvous point to meet up with everyone else, Bethany, Hashirama, Tobirama, Minato and Madara in the lead. No one spoke a word as they travelled, be it on the ground, through the trees, or over water. There was complete and utter silence- not even their soft foot-falls could be heard, as they all muted their steps with a small amount of chakra. They didn't have to speak to convey their nervousness and fear. It was palpable in the air, and the group of Shinobi had no desire to voice their dark thoughts. So they kept silent, as good Shinobi should and continued on as fast as possible without tiering themselves out. Bethany, Madara and her three Sensei's knew that while they were making good time at the moment, it would still take at least a day to reach the place where they'd agreed to meet up, two days if anything slowed them down.**

 **It was starting. Bethany clenched her fist. The First Shinobi World War of the real world had barely begun and already people were worrying- herself included. She wouldn't say that she wasn't afraid. She was terrified, but no matter what happened- she would rather die than give up after everything she had fought for in the last five years- everything she had lost. Bethany stared resolutely ahead. They would win or they would die trying, but they would never let the sacrifices they had all made be for nothing. That was a promise.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **The military and government leaders waited patiently- but just barely so, for the Shinobi of Konoha to arrive. The mood in the underground dessert base was decidedly sour. It was hot, it was sweaty, it was dry and it was absolutely** ** _boring_** **. Everyone was getting tired of waiting, and were just about to give up completely, when suddenly, a burst of powerful Chakra flared throughout the air, alerting many of them to an incredibly strong presence. The men tensed, before breathing a sigh of relief when they recognised the Chakra signature of the person, some of them having fought against her in the previous war. A lot of other, weaker, but no less prominent Chakra signatures flared as well, while a nearly identical but much larger Chakra flared, as did two more powerful ones.**

 **Almost as soon as the energy had died down, did around 98 figures appear into view. Most of them, the leaders noticed right away were children or young adults. Three of them were adults, one man with long brown hair and black eyes, the second one with short white spiky hair and chestnut brown/red eyes and the third was a man with short spiky blond hair and bright blue eyes. A young woman stepped forwards. She had long brown hair like the first man and hazel coloured eyes. Despite her seeming age, she held an air of power and authority that flowed around her like a cape. Even so, her eyes were warm and gentle, "I am Bethany Senju, leader of the village of Konohagakure, and these are my teachers and Shinobi" she said with a strong voice. It wouldn't do to appear weak in front of these people. That was her problem last time. One of the military leaders bowed to her, "O ai dekite** **ureshidesu (it's nice to meet you), Hokage-Sama, thank you for coming" he said gratefully.**

 **Bethany grinned then, "it's no problem, we would have come anyway- the fate of the world is at stake after all" she replied. The military leaders nodded, "we've been briefed on the situation- even so, it's scary to think that someone with so much power is in this world". The young woman nodded, "I know, but she can traverse dimensions, so it's really not such a far-fetched idea that she found this one and decided to take over it instead, where people have Chakra, but are much less experienced with using it" she replied. The man nodded, "I see- by the way, Hokage-Sama, my name is Alex" he said, holding out his hand, which the girl took, "it's very nice to meet you, Alex-San, please, we are all equal in this war, just call me Bethany" she replied. Alex nodded, "hai, Bethany-San". After shaking hands, the man looked around, "well, you and your people have run all the way here, you must be exhausted" he stated, while seeing several of the young men and women looking at him gratefully, "why don't I show you to your rooms, so you can all get some rest?" he offered.**

 **Bethany nodded with a grateful smile, "that would be very much appreciated Alex-San" she replied. While she herself, Madara and all her teachers weren't even really that winded, she knew that pretty much all of her Shinobi had less stamina than them and would be far more exhausted after taking a normally three day journey and halving it. They may be Shinobi, but they were still only human, and still only young. Alex led them through many long corridors, pointing out bathrooms and the dining hall. As they came to the bedrooms, he cleared his throat, "alright now, each room has enough beds and space for three people each and there are thirty-two spare rooms, divide yourselves among them and remember them, as these will be your rooms for however long we're here for" he explained.**

 **The young adults began to explore rooms and split themselves up into groups of three. Bethany, Madara and Makoto shared one room, while the three Hokage had the one next to it. After everyone had chosen a room, most fell asleep straight away. Bethany, Madara and Makoto had the good sense to eat something first. Soon after that all three fell asleep as well. Bethany stayed awake a short while longer though.** ** _'I have to be ready, tomorrow's going to be the official start of the war- I must be strong, no matter what I will protect everyone that I can'_** **she thought. Bethany, while hopeful, was also a relist when it came to war. She knew that no matter how strong she'd become since the start of her training, there was no way she'd be able to protect** ** _everyone_** **. Even so, she swore that she would protect everyone she could and keep Kaguya from getting her filthy hands on her world.** ****

 **Soon after that, she managed to let sleep claim her, and fell into a dreamless void.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **The next day, everyone met up in the eating hall for breakfast rations. Minato grinned as he accepted his water, bread and apple, "well, this takes me back- barely having any food, while having to feed a whole bunch of people- right, Bethany-Chan?" he asked jokingly. Bethany laughed slightly, then sobered, "yeah, it does" she replied, a distant and sad look in her eyes. In the next instant it was gone, and she grinned, "maybe I should offer my services again before the fighting starts, you know- grow more food for everyone?" she asked cheerfully, but everyone could still see the pain behind her cheerfulness. Minato frowned and looked down, "forgive me, Bethany-Chan, I don't know why I was joking about something so serious- I'm sorry" he replied.**

 **Bethany rapidly shook her head, "no, it's okay, really- as much as it was horrible, that first war allowed us to be more prepared for this one, so at least we know what to do, and won't just be floundering around" she said, trying to get everyone to think about the positives of the situation. Minato smiled, the girl really was considerate, "arigato" he said softly. When everyone was sitting down at their table- ie: the three Hokage, Madara and Bethany, they began to talk quietly amongst themselves while eating, "so, when do you think the actual war will start?" Madara asked. Bethany frowned, "I don't know, but it will be soon so we have to stay ready, it could be at any time" she replied, staring down at the food and taking slow bites. Hashirama nodded, "don't worry, we will be" he said gently. Bethany nodded and they continued to eat.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 ** _(Unknown location)_**

 **Kaguya turned from the image of the three Hokage and Bethany and looked out over her dimension. What fools. Were they really willing to throw their lives away for no reason? Well, no matter. She would be kind and all those who did die would be brought back inside her jutsu.** ** _"_** ** _Is it time, Mother?"_** **Black Zetsu asked, emerging from out of the ground by the woman's side. Kaguya turned to look back at her enemies images, "yes, it is- ready the soldiers, it is time to go to war" she said, not a hint of remorse or mercy in her voice for the thousands of lives she was about to destroy.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **The sentries for the military base where Bethany and her group were stationed hated their job. It had to be the most boring, hot, worthless job in the world. Sure, they knew about this supposed coming threat, but really- why did it have to be so goddamn** ** _boring!_** **Nothing ever happened there, and it was enough to make them cry tears of boredom. They just wanted something-** ** _anything_** **to happen, damn it! Suddenly, something off in the distance caught their attention. It almost looked like a black void opening up in the air. Then, to their shock, thousands upon thousands of white figures rushed out of the hole and onto the dessert plain. Finally snapping out of his stupor, one of the guards rushed inside to tell everyone what was going on. The other guard was still frozen in a state of shock, as he stared at the sheer number of enemies they would have to face.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **As the guard ran through the underground building, he began screaming at the top of his lungs: "it's started! They're here!" Once everyone heard this, they scrambled out of their seats and made a mad dash for their weapons, armour ect… Bethany used the Flying Thunder God jutsu to teleport to her room and quickly began to pull her armour on. Now was no time for being slow. It was time. Time to decide the fate of the world.**


	28. Chapter 28

**Kaguya knew she could simply wipe out the entire stronghold and everyone in it and be done with it. But she didn't come here to destroy them. No, that's what they were going to do. All she wanted was to take back her Chakra, and to save them and this world from themselves. Once they were in the Infinite Tsukuyomi, everything would be better. But until then, she had no choice but to match their forces with her own.**

 **She watched silently, as the Chakra users and non Chakra users filed out of the building. Even if they couldn't** ** _use_** **it, she could tell they all held Chakra within their bodies. Kaguya could tell that some of them had much more Chakra than others. Like the three men who were called 'Hokage' or the girl with the brown-haired mans jutsu abilities. Another thing she noticed was that the Chakra of the Wood users as well as the Uchiha was very familiar- and not just because they were her descendants.**

 **She knew that no matter what, these humans wouldn't give up their Chakra willingly. So, Kaguya decided she'd have to make them. "Rabbit Hair Needle!" she called. As her voice reverberated through the air and her Chakra flared, she watched the group opposite her tense. Her long hair became hard and sharp, shooting out towards everyone, lengthening as it did so. The woman watched as all the humans leapt away, the non-Chakra users being carried by those who did have Chakra. She watched as the girl called Bethany went through several hand signs, "Mokuton: Multi Wood Locking Wall!" she called. Suddenly, several thousand branches shot up in front of them, forming several giant layers of thick wooden walls. The jutsu intercepted her hair tendrils and though they broke through quite a few of the walls, the different layers were formed slightly differently, slowing down Kagauya's attack until it was stopped all together, a mere two inches from Bethany's forehead.**

 **The Rabbit goddess scowled as her jutsu was stopped by a mere** ** _human_** **. She recalled her hair and stared down at the group before her. Black Zetsu had told her of the girls power, but she had not thought her to be** ** _that_** **strong. It was interesting to see just how powerful these humans could become in time, but she also knew that if left on their own, humans would only destroy themselves and the worlds they inhabited. That was why all Chakra must belong to her and only her. She was the only one who could save the world and everyone else would only harm it. "All-Killing Ash Bones!" this time, multiple bones were fired from her hands at everyone. Bethany gasped, that jutsu was too expansive for her to stop! "Scatter!" she exclaimed, as at once, everyone leapt out of the way. Unfortunately, Bethany got hit in the leg with one of the bones. "Ah! Oh no!" she cried, as her body began to fall apart into ash. Suddenly, the form of the girl went up in a cloud of smoke, revealing a wood clone, which continued to deteriorate until it was nothing but ash. A second later, Bethany climbed out of the sand, "that was too close!" she muttered, vanishing in a flash of brown and reappearing next to her teachers, who had regrouped by then.**

 **The young Hokage glared at the Rabbit Goddess. This was going to be a long war.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **The two sides glared at each other while a tense silence filled the air. Suddenly, the Rabbit Goddess spoke, causing almost everyone to flinch at the sound of her voice, "little girl, you should know when to give up- if you do it will be much easier for all of you, don't you want to see your loved ones and comrades again? In my Infinite Tsukuyomi, I can bring them all back, and you can live in a truly peaceful world. Isn't that what you want? For you and everyone to be able to live peacefully?" she asked, directing her attention at Bethany. The young Senju lowered her head, letting her fringe shadow her eyes. Everyone was silent, waiting with morbid curiosity to see how the girl would respond. Even Hashirama didn't try to dissuade her of the woman's offer.**

 **When Bethany began to speak, it was quiet and subdued, not at all like the strong young woman they knew, "of course I want peace, and yes, I would love to see those who I lost again," she started, causing Kaguya to smirk in triumph. But then she lifted her head, and her eyes held enough determination and strong will for all of them, "but, that doesn't mean I want to live in a** ** _fake_** **world with** ** _fake_** **versions of my loved ones! That kind of peace is not real peace, and it's most defiantly** ** _not_** **what the world needs! The true way to peace is through cooperation with your comrades and friends! To believe in them and also in myself! If we all try our hardest I know we can make peace a reality in this world, no matter if we're imperfect of not! I may be just short of a child, and yes, I'm sure there are a great many things I don't know, understand and am naive about! But as long as people exist in this world, as long as there is at least one person wanting peace and caring for others, their love will be able to spread to others, and this world** ** _can_** **and** ** _will_** **know** ** _true peace!_** **Because no one can do everything on their own! If we all believe in ourselves and our comrades, we** ** _can_** **and** ** _will_** **make it a reality! So go to hell you crazy bitch! This is** ** _our_** **world and there is no way in hell or beyond that I, or anyone else here will let** ** _that_** **become a reality!" she exclaimed with so much pure conviction that** ** _everyone_** **felt their spirits reunite with hope and an undying will.**

 **Kaguya snarled at the foolish girl. Well then, if that was how she wanted it, then that was what she was going to get. Everyone tensed again as the woman floated up into the air, "it doesn't matter how strong your convictions are, you are all going to die in the end, and I will prove it to you- now!" on an unspoken command, the army of White Zetsu clones rushed Bethany and her forces. "Let's do this!" the young woman cried, as everyone let out a war cry and rushed forwards to meet their enemies. The war had now officially begun!**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Hundreds upon hundreds- or was it thousands?-of White Zetsu clones rushed forward with wild abandon, literally throwing themselves at the Shinobi and soldiers. Bethany drew her Shogun Katana and began cutting the enemy down with precise strikes and slashes. Madara 'danced' through the hoards of clones with his Gunbai and scythe flying around him, a literal blur as he fought. The three Hokage were taking out enemy after enemy, while the others were ploughing through their own group of at least fifty clones each. At least the White Zetsu were relatively easy to take out, and as long as you kept your eyes on them, their ability to trick an enemy by transforming into copies of those whose Chakra they drained wouldn't work.**

 **Every now and then, Bethany would chance a look at Kaguya, but the woman hadn't moved a muscle since ascending into the sky. It was obvious to her that the reason for her using all these Zetsu Clones was to wear them down and weaken them by draining their Chakra. Then she would step in and decimate them to the point where they lost all hope of winning this war. After which Kaguya would activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi, as everyone would be feeling full of hopelessness and despair at her display of power, and wouldn't bother resisting since seeds of doubt would have begun to be planted in their minds. They would be easily overcome by the jutsu and everyone would then be trapped until all of their Chakra was drained and she had her mindless pawns. Bethany knew that was the woman's plan, (it must be, that was what she would do after all if she were trying to do the same thing). Unfortunately, Kaguya didn't know Bethany Senju.**

 **She would never give up, not until she was dead- she would keep fighting for all their sakes- she had to. As the young woman sent an ungodly strong punch to the midsection of one of the clones, literally** ** _liquefying_** **the poor bastard, she flipped around and kicked two away from her in the next second. When at least four then jumped at her, a voice from behind her caught her attention: "Gunbai Wind Wall!" it cried, as a strong gust of wind blasted the four pawns into the ground. Bethany turned slightly as Madara landed behind her with his Gunbai raised in a blocking position in front of him and the two stood back to back. The Senju smiled slightly, "thanks for the save" she said as she took out two more of the White Zetsu Clones with her sword. The Uchiha smirked back at her, "no problem" he replied in a nonchalant tone as both Shinobi then blurred out of sight, Bethany taking out ten more of their advisories with her Flying Thunder God Slice, and Madara burned several of his own to a crisp with his Katon jutsu.**

 **Hashirama, Tobirama and Minato were in similar situations, each fighting off a large number of Zetsu clones, while also keeping an eye out for any Shinobi or soldiers that might need their assistance. As the First Hokage shot through hand seals, he called out the name of his jutsu: "Mokuton! Wood Dragon Jutsu!" suddenly a giant wooden dragon emerged from the ground and immobilized several of his enemies by coiling it's large body around them. He quickly drained the creatures of their Chakra and added it to his own supply, before he performed an earth style Ninjutsu and crushed the now lifeless clones under several tones of rock and earth. Suddenly more White Zetsu attacked them. Tobirama grunted in annoyance, "just how many of these things are their anyway?" he asked, slightly annoyed by their seeming lack of progress. Every time they almost cut down all the white Zetsu on the field, hundreds more seemed to take their place.**

 **That was just an exaggeration, but it felt that way. How much longer would this go on for?**


	29. Chapter 29

**_(Meanwhile, back at the stronghold where the Konoha civilians were staying)_**

 **Paul was on edge. Ever since his daughter had left to fight in the war with most of their forces two and a half days ago, there had been a tense feeling in the air. The man had had bad feeling for a long time and hadn't been able to relax. As he wandered around the compound, he saw many of the families and other adults also looking worried, probably for the sake of their children and the world. He soon came to the entrance of the compound and, getting permission from the guards, went outside and stared out at the trees surrounding them. For some reason it only made the tense feeling worse. Suddenly something in the trees caught his eye. Paul squinted slightly, before his eyes widened in shock and horror. Multiple White Zetsu Clones, more than he could count at the moment, were running towards the compound through the trees. He placed his hands together and concentrated. Soon a burst of Chakra pulsed from his body and spread through the air. There, hopefully the soldiers felt that, and would come soon. Paul then steeled himself. It was time to put his training to good use, and defend the people of his home. He changed the hand sign he was using and focused his Chakra to his hands. First a fine layer of fire Chakra coated his hands. Then he added his wind nature Chakra to that. Lastly he mixed in lightning Chakra, causing his hands to glow a bright white. When that was done he took a Hakkesho stance (a fighting style similar to the Gentle Fist) and shot at the first Zetsu Clone.**

 **He gave what looked like a gentle tap to the creatures body, however in the next second, it vaporised into complete oblivion. The trick to this was that he was using his bloodline to coat his hands in the powerful light and when he touched an enemy, he sent a brief burst of the jutsu through its body. This vaporised it completely. He'd trained constantly for all five years that his daughter had been fighting in the first war. And believe me- it** ** _took_** **years to get the control needed for this technique. He called it Light Palm. However, there was a problem to this Fighting style, and that was that it took near perfect Chakra control** ** _constantly_** **. This left him drained quickly. Paul fought for nearly half an hour on his own and he knew he wouldn't last much longer. Suddenly a war cry sounded out behind him, and men rushed past him, carrying all kinds of close combat weapons. The man sighed inwardly in relief, however he knew that just because reinforcements had arrived, it didn't mean he could take a break. Paul jumped back into his starting position then shot forwards once again.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 ** _(Back on the frontlines with Bethany and the others)_**

 **It had been hours since the fighting had started and it was beginning to take its toll on everyone. Most of the Shinobi and solders were exhausted and collapsed on the ground, while many others were badly wounded. The only ones who had the stamina to keep fighting were the three Hokage, Bethany and Madara. As Bethany cut down the last of the Zetsu Clones, many more ran onto the battlefield from the portal Kaguya still had open. Everyone gasped with wide eyes- there were** ** _more of them?!_** **Kaguya watched as shock and hopelessness settled onto them, causing her to smirk, "so, you finally realise that you cannot win against me?" she asked. However Bethany stood tall, "I'm nowhere** ** _near_** **giving up yet! Don't underestimate us!" she called, making a cross with the index and middle fingers of both hands. Suddenly, hundreds of perfect copies of the young woman appeared, and shot off, each touching as many of the downed people as possible.**

 **As they did, an outline of bright green Chakra formed around each of their bodies. Everyone watched, amazed, as their wounds disappeared almost instantly, and they felt almost** ** _stronger_** **than they had when they started. Hashirama, Minato and Tobirama watched with awe at what their student was doing. "Is she doing what I think she's doing?" Minato asked with wide eyes. Hashirama and Tobirama nodded almost in unison, "she's giving each and every member of our force her own Mokuton Chakra, healing their wounds and revitalizing their energy and Chakra" the Shodai' said, shocked at this feat. Since when did Bethany learn to do** ** _this_** **? The young Kage's Shadow Clones soon dispersed, their job done, and Bethany stared at the Rabbit Goddess with fire burning in her eyes, "like I said, we're nowhere near giving up yet, don't underestimate us!" she cried, as everyone cried out in agreement with new determination in their eyes.**

 **They shot forwards as one glowing green force, while Kaguya grit her teeth in annoyance. She'd already lost most of her White Zetsu army, and had been hoping that the final group would be enough to break their spirits. However it seems things hadn't worked out like she'd hoped. Damn that little brat of a leader! Her Zetsu clones all ran back into the portal, while the Rabbit Goddess gave one last glare to the humans, "this isn't over, I will be back, and then- I will end this!" she called as she herself floated back into her dimension and the portal closed behind her.**

 **Everyone stopped and stared. They'd done it. They'd really beat back Kaguya and her forces! It may have been only the first day of the war, but still! The very fact that they were alive and breathing, able to fight the next day was a reason to celebrate! Everyone, children and adult let out a huge cheer of victory. Bethany smiled, though inside she was utterly exhausted. The Chakra cloaks faded and Hashirama went up to Bethany, "are you alright?" he asked worriedly. The woman nodded, "hai, I'll be fine Sensei, I just need to rest for a while, that's all" she replied breathlessly.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **That night there was such a celebration, they had lasted the first day of the war, and everyone was still alive so far! Mostly everyone was in the dining hall, everyone except for Bethany, Hashirama and Madara. The woman gasped as she collapsed onto her bed, "oh god, I'm exhausted!" she cried. Hashirama frowned, "well, you did use up a massive amount of Chakra today, healing everyone and revitalizing them- by the way, when did you learn to do that?" he asked curiously- it certainly hadn't been something they had taught her. Bethany closed her eyes tiredly, "Naruto, the main character of the anime that is also your world did it in the Fourth Great Ninja War, so I decided to try it as well" she replied. Madara raised an eyebrow, "so you didn't actually know for sure it would work? You just knew Naruto had done it and decided to give it a try?" he asked.**

 **Bethany sighed, "Uh huh- it was the only thing I could think to do in that situation to heal and revitalize everyone's Chakra and raise everyone's spirits" she said. Hashirama looked slightly shocked. Bethany had given her Chakra to everyone on a whim? It wasn't so much that she'd actually done it, but more of the fact that she'd been able to alter her Mokuton Chakra to match everyone else, and it had worked- not to mention she'd done it subconsciously! She might already be far above him in ability if she could cause the Chakra to not only accept new host bodies, but also heal those people of its own accord! Bethany really was something else. She was progressing more rapidly than he ever would have thought, but he knew that it was mostly because she refused to give up that she had. He smiled widely at her, "Bethany, you have truly surpassed me, and I couldn't be more proud of you- no longer are you a child, but an adult, so I will address you as such" he said, pride shining from him.**

 **The young woman smiled tiredly back, "I appreciate your words Sensei, but-" here she paused and blushed slightly, "could you keep calling me Bethany-Chan- I- well, I kind of found it comforting, even if you say I have surpassed you, so, d-do you mind?" she asked, biting her lip and looking up at him with shy eyes. Hashirama shook his head, "not at all, now, get some sleep Bethany-Chan, you deserve it after today" he replied with a smile. Bethany nodded slowly, and smiled up at him and Madara, who smiled back and took hold of her hand, "he's right, get some rest, I have no doubt Kaguya will be back again tomorrow, so we need all the rest we can get tonight, especially you since you used up so much of your Chakra, okay?" he asked gently, stroking the back of his Girlfriends hand with his thumbs. The brown-haired girl frowned slightly, struggling to keep her eyes open, "you will wake me if anything happens though, right?" she asked in a serious tone.**

 **Hashirama nodded, his face also serious, "we will, I promise, now get some rest so you can continue to protect everyone tomorrow" he said. Bethany, now reassured, closed her eyes almost immediately and was asleep the next second. Hashirama chuckled. She was that tired, and yet she still put up a strong face for their sake. He gently stroked part of her fringe out of her face. In truth, he'd seen her as more than a student for a while now. While they mostly had a brother/sister relationship, there was a little of the father/daughter type there as well, though he knew that he could never bring himself to take the girl away from Paul, he knew that if he ever had a daughter, he'd want her to be just like Bethany.**

 **Hashirama quietly stood from his seat on the girls bed, "sleep well Bethany-Chan, you deserve it" he whispered as he silently left the room.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 ** _(With Paul and the others)_**

 **Paul sat panting heavily as the last of the Zetsu Clones that hadn't been destroyed retreated. He'd used up a lot of Chakra with his technique, but it had been worth it as he knew that he'd managed to keep everyone safe. The other solders gathered around him, awe on their faces. "Are you alright sir?" one asked as another helped him up. The man nodded slowly, he'd defiantly need a long rest soon, "I'm fine, did any of them manage to get inside?" he asked worriedly. Another solder shook his head, "no sir, and there were no casualties on our side either" he replied. Paul sighed in relief, "what about injuries?" he questioned, inwardly wondering where this commanding side of him had come from, and when it had first appeared, "the injuries to our own forces were minimal, but we managed to destroy several of those Zetsu creatures Bethany-Sama told us about, before the others got away" he explained. The Middleton nodded, "good, but unfortunately, we don't know if they'll attack again tonight while we're asleep, so you should set up several patrols of guards for the night, so they can each take turns getting their rest for tomorrow while protecting the compound and all those inside it" he recommended.**

 **The other man nodded, and helped the weakened father of Konoha's leader inside. As they walked Paul sighed. To borrow a phrase from Shikamaru, he had a feeling this war was going to be troublesome.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 ** _(Kaguya's dimension)_**

 **The Rabbit Goddess scowled as she stared out at the real world. All her plans were falling apart around her. Damn that girl and her family. She was lucky that she was such a generous person that she would still allow them into her perfect world. Just a little longer now…**


	30. Chapter 30

**_(Time Skip, next day)_**

 **It was day two of the war and everyone had just finished getting ready to fight again. Bethany was up and out of bed, going over their plans with Alex and the other three Hokage. She had a feeling that Kaguya would use the same tactic as yesterday, but just in case she didn't, the young woman reminded everyone to be careful and stay on guard. "After all," she said, "we really don't know what that woman is thinking" Bethany said with a thoughtful frown on her face. Once everything was decided, the army rested for as long as they could before Kaguya showed up again. However that was easier said than done as they were all on edge about what would happen. When the signal came that the enemy had appeared, everyone walked out of the base much calmer than they had the day before, knowing that they needed to conserve their energy.**

 **As they all filled out, they saw the Rabbit Goddess floating in the air with her White Zetsu army standing below her. To their relief, there weren't any more than at the end of the battle yesterday, however, Bethany realised a big problem with that. With such a small amount of Zetsu Clones, did that mean that Kaguya was going to- oh god, was she going to join the battle** ** _herself_** **? The very thought filled her with dread. The Otsutsuki woman had only attacked them twice so far in the whole two days of the war, but if they had to deal with** ** _her_** **, as well as her Zetsu army, they were screwed. Bethany felt despair creep up on her, but roughly pushed it away. They didn't know anything for sure yet, and jumping to conclusions would only make things worse. So, for everyone's sake, the young woman took a deep breath and focused on the current problem- the White Zetsu Clones.**

 **Just like the day before, the Clones rushed them. Bethany and her comrades charged forwards as well. As the battles raged on, once again, jutsu and the sound of weapons being used were heard all throughout the area. It was as much chaos as the day before, and it was because of this that Bethany didn't see the black shadow creeping up on her until it was too late. There was a flash of purple and a spray of blood. The Senju woman froze. Black Zetsu was standing facing her with a hand covered in blood just a few inches in front of her chest. And standing with her back to Bethany and currently being pierced through the chest by Black Zetsu's hand, was Makoto. The young woman's eyes were wide with shock, horror and a sick sense of morbid fascination as she stared at the blood dripping from the black creature's hand, blood that belonged to her second little sister. Suddenly, Bethany broke out of her shocked state as Black Zetsu retracted his hand and Makoto coughed blood. "Makoto!" she screamed.**

 **All battles ceased at that, and everyone turned to see what had happened. Most of the Shinobi gasped in horror, while the three Hokage frowned in sorrow for their student/little sister. Bethany rushed forwards and caught the Hyuuga girl as her legs gave way and she began to collapse to the ground. "Makoto! Hey Makoto! Come on, wake up!" she cried as she laid the girl down and began using her Medical Ninjutsu to heal her wound. The girl slowly opened her white eyes, and looked down at her chest as the green glow engulfed it. She knew however, that there was nothing her older sister could do for her now- the wound was fatal, "N-Nee-Sama, stop" she whispered. However Bethany shook her head vigorously, "no! I can stop the bleeding! I can save you!" she replied, pushing more Chakra into her technique. The preteen coughed and blood came out from her mouth, "Bethany-Nee- you can't-" she tried again, but was cut off by the older woman, "I can! I will save you! You're going to be fine, Mako-Chan- you will" the Senju said desperately, sweat dripping down the sides of her face.**

 **"** **Bethany!" Makoto yelled, as loud as she could in her current condition, forcing her body to move so she could grab her leader's wrist. Bethany didn't move, but the healing Chakra diminished slightly, "don't say I can't save you, because I will, I have to!" the woman yelled, before she lowered her head and trembled, "I have to" she repeated. The Hyuuga gasped in agony and began to speak, "I know you feel guilty, like this is all your fault- but it's not,** ** _I_** **moved in the way of that attack,** ** _I_** **took it of my own free will to save you-" Makoto coughed again and more blood came out, dripping down her chin and staining her clothes, although they were already ruined from the blood from the hole in her chest, "listen to me Nee-Sama- these people all believe in you, your will is what guides them, you must stay strong, for their sake- a-and for your own," she paused again, shuddering as pain wracked through her body, "they believe in you, like I did- y-you can't let them down, don't give in," the girl shuddered in agony, "they believe in you, like I-I believed in y-you- you ca-an't give up, if you do, if you do- then all those who've sacrificed their lives will become meaningless- because- if you give up on what th-those people believed in, it would be the same as spitting on their sacrifices. Beth-an-ny, you have to s-stay strong, be-c-cause, the only way you can win, is by *gasp* staying true t-to what you believe in- because, you hold m-more than your o-own hopes, a-and dreams- you *gasp* hold everyone's- and as l-lo-*cough*-ng as y-you remember that- you will- n-never be alone" she panted for a moment more, before her eyes became vacant and her body lifeless.**

 **Bethany felt her heart breaking, as she looked down at her little sister's body. "M-Mako-to" she said brokenly, tears trailing down her face as she cradled the girl's body in her arms, curling around the cold form, as though trying to revive her with her warmth alone. Why? Why did she have to die, damn it! What did Makoto ever do to deserve this? Why couldn't she have saved her? Why, after everything, after trying so hard was she still so worthless and weak? Bethany knelt their sobbing, her body shaking with both mental and emotional agony. She couldn't do it. If she couldn't even protect and save her little sister, how could she ever hope to be able to protect everyone else? The young Kage felt her will crumbling- she didn't know what to do anymore- *slap!* Bethany blinked as she was now staring in a different direction than only a few seconds ago. Suddenly a stinging pain blossomed in her right cheek and she could feel someone's hand on it.**

 **Turning to face forwards again, she saw Madara staring at her with the hardest expression she'd ever seen directed at her, his hand held against her cheek. "Bethany, Makoto just said that everyone believed in you, that** ** _she_** **believed in you," he paused and took a breath, "she gave her life for you because you were precious to her, and because she knew that you would be the one to end this war- if you give up now, and stop believing in yourself, the sacrifices all of those who died in this war and the last, will become meaningless," Madara's gaze softened, "you aren't alone Bethany-Chan- we are all with you, and we** ** _do_** **all believe in you, but to truly be strong, you also have to believe in** ** _yourself_** **, do you understand?" he asked gently. Bethany stared, speechless at her boyfriend, "Madara-Kun, I-" she paused and closed her eyes for a moment, as she reached up and placed her hand over his, "you're right, and so was Makoto- I** ** _will_** **end this war, I can't lose because everyone is here with me, I** ** _won't_** **let everyone's sacrifices be in vain- I** ** _will_** **protect everyone, and end this war- I swear it!" she exclaimed, her will reigniting itself. The two of them stood up, hand in hand.**

 **"** **Let's do this Madara! Everyone!" Bethany called, a powerful cry of hope and strength that reached everyone who was present, echoing all the way up into the heavens. They all roared out in agreement, they** ** _would_** **win-** ** _no matter what!_**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **As they were fighting against the goddess, something black flew at Bethany. She quickly dodged, and found herself staring at Black Zetsu. The young woman grit her teeth, "you" she hissed, glaring at the creature that had taken her little sister away from her. It chuckled darkly,** ** _"_** ** _what's wrong? Shouldn't you be with your_** ** _precious_** ** _little sister right now?"_** **The girl hissed at the creature, '** ** _bastard!'_** **she thought with venom. Black Zetsu continued to attack her and she continued to dodge and block. However, she couldn't gain any ground on the physical manifestation of Kaguya's will. It moved too swiftly, and attacked too unpredictably.**

 **Bethany attacked as fast as she could, using her Flying Thunder God jutsu to its fullest extent. She barley had enough time to glance over at the others to make sure they were still surviving against Kaguya. All three of her teachers were assisting them in their battle, using everything they could to keep the advantage. The young Senju leapt back and scrutinised her enemy. She noticed Madara fighting off his own enemies. She was about to go over to him, when suddenly, she heard a voice inside her head:** **"** **Bethany-Chan, you must listen to me,"** **the girl blinked, but kept her eyes on Black Zetsu.** ** _'Who are you?'_** **she thought back.**

 **"** **There is no time, I know you may not trust me, but you must do something for me- I promise, I will explain everything I can when we meet, but for us to meet, you must allow that creature to kill you".** **The girl's eyes widened,** ** _'what? Are you crazy? I can't just let myself die! Everyone needs me!'_** **she thought in defence. The voice was quiet for a moment, and Bethany had a feeling that whoever it was had nodded,** **"** **I understand, but I cannot reach you in that plain yet, you must trust me Bethany-Chan- I promise you can trust me, if you want to defeat my mother and save this world, then you need to die temporarily".** **Bethany blinked, then her eyes widened in realisation;** ** _'m-mother?! Then y-you're-?!'_** **she thought in shock.** **"** **No time, you and Madara must hurry"** **Bethany slumped in defeat mentally,** ** _'alright! Alright! I'll do it!'_** **she thought, steeling herself. When Black Zetsu lunged at her again, the Senju held her ground.**

 **"** **Bethany!" she heard Madara call her name, just as she was pierced through the stomach. Bethany coughed blood as agony erupted throughout her body. The pain soon faded as she collapsed to the ground. As her vision began to fade, she saw a hazy black blur fly towards her, but she couldn't tell if it was Black Zetsu or Madara. Finally she fell into complete darkness and she knew no more.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Madara watched with a horrified look frozen on his face as the girl he loved stood dead still before the incoming form of Black Zetsu. His Sharingan watched with perfect clarity as the arm approached her stomach, "Bethany!" he screamed, just as the creature pierced her body, blood splattering on the ground. The woman coughed blood, as Black Zetsu pulled his arm out of her body and she crashed to the cold, hard ground. Soon the Uchiha's look of horror turned to one of complete murderous rage. His eyes began to feel like they were being burnt, but his heart felt like it was engulfed in a pit of ice. As he felt his anger take control, something screamed in his head to make that bastard suffer, to burn him in the darkest flames of hell until he was nothing but ash.**

 **Madara let loose a scream of pure agony and rage, as trails of blood began to flow down his face from his eyes. And his regular three tomoe Sharingan morphed into a circular bladed Sharingan. Suddenly the pain vanished, and black flames burst forth onto everything he set his eyes on. Thankfully none of his comrades were nearby, or else they too would have been engulfed in the black heavenly flames. The Uchiha began to run forwards in a blur of speed, his newly awakened Mangekyo Sharingan burning every Zetsu clone he passed, his enraged red eyes focused solely on the form of Black Zetsu. The dark construct had exactly one second to take in what was happening before his right arm, the one now covered in Bethany's blood burst into flames. The creature shrieked, disappearing into the crowd of his white Zetsu brothers. Madara would have chased after the bastard, but suddenly he crashed onto the ground, feeling completely drained of energy, with his Mangekyo Sharingan fading from his eyes.**

 **The young man panted as he fought to keep himself from collapsing. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, he could clearly feel the pain in his eyes and he placed his hands over them in an attempt to stop it. After a moment of ragged breathing, Madara removed his bloody palms from his equally blood smeared face and looked up. He was kneeling a short distance from his girlfriend's body. Black Zetsu had vanished completely, but he wasn't fool enough to disillusion himself into thinking that the bastard was dead. That would be too convenient. His eyes lowered onto the still form of his girlfriend lying in a pool of her own blood.**

 **The young man, despite feeling like he'd just battled for three days straight with the amount of exhaustion he was feeling, managed to drag himself over to Bethany. He stared down at her- her beautiful face, normally so full of life and joy, now looked pale and lifeless. Madara felt more tears fall from his eyes, though this time they were the normal type. Well, they would be, except the water wet the slowly drying blood trails, making drops of watery blood trail down his face. With shaky arms, he picked Bethany up and held her. Was this how she'd felt when Makoto had been killed right before her eyes? No, this must be worse, he thought, Makoto might have been Bethany's little sister, but** ** _she_** **was the only girl he'd ever loved. Madara felt his heart shattering- if she died he'd never love anyone ever again. Suddenly he felt a numb feeling appear in his chest.**

 **He looked down and saw a black hand trust through his chest. Madara turned his head slowly and saw the very bastard who had killed Bethany standing behind him with his hand through his chest, the appendage still slick with his girlfriends blood, and now his own as well. The man would have burnt the construct right then, but his strength was slipping away from him, and he couldn't send enough Chakra to his eyes to activate his Mangekyo. As he collapsed forwards onto the ground, the pain immediately flared up and started spreading through the young man's chest. Madara gasped wetly, as blood flowed from his wound and his mouth. Shaking with pain and exhaustion, the Uchiha forced himself to look up. The man's breaths came in slowly, and his vision started to fade. He stared at the girl he loved, the blurry image slowly disappearing as his eyes slid slowly closed. "B-Bethany-Chan" he whispered, before oblivion claimed him.**


	31. Chapter 31

**Bethany slowly came to consciousness again, feeling as though she was floating.** ** _'W-where am I?'_** **she thought, opening her eyes, to see a white expanse above her. Unconsciously she'd voiced her question out loud, and she was shocked when a voice answered her, "I suppose you could call this the place between life and death, Bethany-Chan". The girl gasped and sat up quickly, however her eyes widened when she recognized the old man** ** _floating in the air_** **across from her. After everything that she'd been through in recent years, Bethany thought she couldn't be surprised by anything anymore. Boy was she wrong.**

 **She pointed at him in shock and said the first thing that came to her mind: "Sennin-Sama!" she exclaimed. The man nodded, "I see you really do pick up on things quickly, good, this will make things much easier" the Sage Of The Six Paths, Hagromo Otsutsuki said. Bethany stared at him for a moment, before she shook her head and sat with her legs crossed in front of her, "so that** ** _was_** **your voice I heard in my head before," she said absentmindedly. The Sage bowed his head, before looking up at her again, "I am the one who will bring peace and order, my name is Hagoromo" he recited. The girl smiled slightly and bowed as well, though showing much more reverence toward this god-of-a-man, "it is a pleasure to meet you Hagoromo-Sama" she said, before sitting up straight again. The Sage smiled, "well, you are definitely more polite than he was" he muttered to himself. Bethany blinked, "huh?" she asked, more to herself than anything, though Hagoromo heard her. His smile faded, "you remind me of my youngest son" he said. Bethany became serious, "you mean Asura-San?" she asked. The Sage nodded, "it seems that you already know, is that right?" he asked. Bethany frowned slightly, "if you mean the fact that I'm Asura-San's transmigrant-" she looked away slightly, "I had a guess" she replied quietly.**

 **The man smiled slightly, "I see, so do you also know who Indra's transmigrant is?" he asked. Bethany closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again and staring at the man, "it's Madara-Kun, right?" she asked, though Bethany was already sure of the answer. Hagoromo nodded, "yes, that's right". The Senju sighed, closing her eyes again. Honestly, it made so much sense that even she had thought it was true for a while now. Suddenly tears began to form in her eyes and she lowered her head so that the father and uncle of almost every clan in both their worlds wouldn't see her tears and shame. Bethany began to shake as the tears fell down her face and dripped onto the floor that she'd only just noticed was water. "I-I'm sorry," she whispered. Hagromo frowned slightly, "for what Bethany-Chan?" he asked softly. The woman looked up, as her body trembled and she continued to sob.**

 **"** **Everything! Fighting! Being weak! Not being able to protect my comrades! Letting everyone die!" Bethany closed her eyes, not wanting to see the disappointment that she was sure would be present in his legendary eyes, "I'm sorry, I-I'm so sorry! If I really am Asura-San's transmigrant, then I failed spectacularly, I failed everyone! I failed you!" the Senju hid her face in her hands, sobbing, and repeating that she was sorry over and over again. Hagoromo frowned and walked up to the crying girl. He stood right in front of her, before he spoke once again, "Bethany, dry your eyes- you haven't failed anyone" he said softly. Bethany looked up at him, her tears still flowing down her face, "w-what do you mean? How have I not failed?" she asked shakily. The Sage smiled, "because, I don't blame you for fighting in that first war, you didn't have any other choice if you wanted to keep your promises and create your village, and also- because you are not completely dead yet, there is still a way you could come back, that is- as long as your Sensei cares for you as much as I know he does- however, you would still not be able to defeat my mother as you are right now".**

 **He looked her directly in the eyes, "I am going to give you some of my power- Madara too" he said. Bethany's eyes widened in fear, "what happened to Madara-Kun?" she asked, dreading the answer. Hagoromo closed his eyes, "he was heartbroken by your death, and this caused him to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan," he explained. The girl was shocked, but soon her shocked look turned into a pained one, "oh Madara-Kun, I'm sorry" she whispered. "No, I'm the one who should apologise, I am the one who told you that you had to die, and that was what caused him so much pain," the Sage replied softly. Bethany took a breath, calming herself, "what happened after that?" she asked quietly. "He took out many of the White Zetsu Clones with his Mangekyo, before he was killed by Black Zetsu, just like yourself" he explained.**

 **Bethany closed her eyes and tilted her head down, while clenching her fists, "However, I have also been talking to him, and he has said that he would like to return to the battlefield, as long as you join him, and the fact that that was my original plan anyway, means I can return you both to reality," Hagoromo paused and Bethany looked up in hope. "However, you are most definitely no match for my mother as you are right now, which is why I am going to give you both some of my power" he held out his hand. The Senju gained a determined look in her eyes and reached out with her right hand.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Meanwhile, in a separate plane, Hagoromo had just finished explaining the same thing to Madara. He held out his hand. The young Uchiha man nodded in determination and reached out with his left hand.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Both touched Hagoromo's hands with their dominant hands. The water they were standing on rippled. Bethany turned her hand so that the palm was facing upwards and stared at it. On her palm was a white circle. Her eyes widened slightly, "this is-" she whispered in awe, before feeling her consciousness fading once again.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Madara looked at his hand and his eyes widened, "this-" he muttered, before he fell into unconsciousness.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **As he watched them fade from the two different dimensions in that plane, the sage sighed,** ** _'now, all I can do is have faith in Bethany and Madara'_** **he thought and closed his eyes.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 ** _(Meanwhile, in the real world)_**

 **Everyone attacked Kaguya and Black Zetsu in an attempt to distract them, while Minato and Hashirama grabbed Bethany and Madara. Minato then teleported them to a safe place and Hashirama set straight to work on healing the two of them. He had to hurry, so they could save their lives and get back to the battlefield as he wasn't sure how long everyone could last. He had left some Wood Clones there, but they were too preoccupied with fighting the Goddess and keeping everyone safe to transmit information at the moment. He created another Clone and they both focused on their individual patients. Healing Chakra was focused to his hands and he placed them on Bethany's stomach, the hole that was their slowly beginning to close up.**

 **His clone, meanwhile, worked on Madara. He placed his hands on the Uchiha's chest and focused healing Chakra into it. Minato stood stock still, not wanting to distract his fellow Hokage from his delicate and vital work. Hashirama knew that without Bethany, there would be no one to keep everyone from falling into despair. Suddenly the First Hokage jerked up, eyes wide with horror. Minato looked worried, "what, what happened?" he asked. Hashirama clenched his teeth, "she just activated the Infinite Tsukuyomi" he ground out, while squeezing his eyes shut tight. The Yondamine Hokage's worried look turned to one of horror, "what! Then we're too late?!" he asked. The Shodai shook his head, "no, I can't explain it, but something tells me that we can still save this world, but we need Bethany-Chan and Madara to do it" he replied with determination, once again focusing all his attention on healing the two young adults who would be able to save this world.**


	32. Chapter 32

_**(Back on the battlefield at the same time)**_

 **Everyone was still horrified by what had happened to their leader. Even the adults, though it had only been two days, had begun to see the strong-willed young Senju as their leader, and seeing her taken down was interfering with their fighting abilities. Kaguya once again spoke up, "now you see- you're leader has failed you, and you have no chance of beating me, give up now and accept your fate within the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and I promise you, none of you will ever lose your loved ones and friends again!" she called. No one spoke, but they all looked between each other worriedly. Was it true? Would it really be better for them if they gave up? Suddenly Hashirama or a Wood Clone of the man began to speak, "Bethany-Chan believed in us, she believed in this world! So what if we and it aren't perfect, we can make peace a reality if we try! That was what she truly believed, and I believe in her- we will not fail here! We will win! We will save this world! And we** ** _will_** **create true peace!" he exclaimed.**

 **Everyone cheered and began to run forwards. Kaguya glared at the humans. Alright, that was it! she'd given them enough chances to give up willingly, it was time to implement her jutsu. The Rabbit Goddess floated into the sky, right in front of the moon. As she stared up at it with distaste, she thought to herself, that at least it would serve her purpose. The third eye on Kaguya's forehead opened, the RinneSharingan glowing ominously with red light. Suddenly the image of her Ultimate Dojutsu appeared on the surface of the moon. Everyone stopped fighting, feeling the Chakra pulsating through the air. Even the non-Shinobi soldiers could feel the huge energy all around them. Tobirama stared up with horror,** ** _'wh-what is that?'_** **he thought. Hashirama's Wood Clones shuddered,** ** _'we'd better tell boss about this'_** **they thought simultaneously, and began sending the message.**

 **Suddenly the moon glowed a piercing white. The light spread over the entire world and everyone who saw it soon found that they couldn't move, even the Wood clones. The image of the Rinnegan appeared in everyone's eyes. Kaguya formed the Ram hand sign, "Divine Deep Forest Emergence!" she called. Giant roots shot out of the ground, growing the Shinju all around the world. Flat white vine-like appendages grew out of the branches and wrapped around each and every person, ensnaring them in a cocoon-like fashion. The vines then lifted everyone off the ground, suspending them from the branches of the Divine Tree and completing the casting of the eternal nightmare.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 ** _(Back with Hashirama, Minato, Bethany and Madara)_**

 **As Hashirama finished healing Bethany and Madara, something unexpected happened. Both young adults glowed with a soft light. When it had faded, Bethany began to stir. Gasping, the two Hokage watched as Madara also began returning to consciousness. The Senju woman slowly opened her eyes to see Hashirama staring down at her. "Bethany-Chan! You're alright!" he exclaimed in relief. The young woman lifted her hand and looked at it. On her palm was a white circle. "I-really am alive" she breathed. It was at that moment that Madara opened his eyes as well and slowly blinked them. Bethany sat up quickly, "Madara-Kun!" she exclaimed in relief. The Uchiha's one visible eye widened, and he turned to her, "Bethany-Chan, you're okay" he said breathlessly. Minato helped Madara to sit up, as he didn't have his Girlfriends vitality, and so was still a little out of it.**

 **Bethany nodded, "I am," she looked up at them and everyone noticed that she had her yellow eyes from sage mode, but without any pigmentation on her face. The woman jumped to her feet, to the shock of everyone present and looked down at her hands, "so this is Six Paths Sage Mode, incredible; it feels like I'm gathering Nature Chakra without even trying, like it's just flowing into me- like its part of me". Madara nodded, looking at his own palm, which had a black crescent moon on it "I know, I've never felt so strong before either" he looked up as well, and everyone noticed he'd moved his hair away from his face. The most shocking thing however was what his eyes looked like. While his left eye was still his Mangekyo Sharingan, the pattern had changed. Instead of being a plain circular bladed shape like before, his eye had changed to have that as well as a spiral going around the original pattern. His Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. It was however his right eye that shocked everyone the most. His right eye was a Rinnegan, the purple being an almost Indigo colour.**

 **Somehow, both of them knew immediately where these new powers had come from, despite not saying anything. Both looked up at Hashirama and Minato, "we need to get back to the battlefield and stop Kaguya quickly" Madara said. Bethany nodded her agreement, "hai, we do, the fate of the world is at stake," she agreed seriously, "is everyone ready?" she asked. After gathering themselves, Hashirama and Minato nodded and all four grabbed onto her. Without even forming any hand signs what-so-ever, the group of four vanished.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **They appeared in a flash of light to a sight that made their skin crawl. Bethany stared around herself with wide eyes, clenching her fists by her sides, "damn that bitch!" she growled. The light had faded by now, and she could clearly see the branches of the Shinju spread far and wide, with everyone wrapped up in their tethers and hanging suspended in the air by them. Bethany turned to Hashirama, Minato and Madara, "okay guys, we need to seal her away as quickly as possible then release this jutsu, otherwise everyone will turn into White Zetsu and become nothing but mindless pawns for Kaguya" she explained. Everyone nodded in agreement. Minato paused, "wait, how are we going to do that? I thought only the Sage could do that?" he asked. Bethany nodded and looked down at her palm, "both Madara-Kun and I have half of Sennin-Sama's power each, and with these markings he gave us, we'll be able to seal her, but we both have to touch her at the same time, which is going to be freaking hard," she blanched slightly, then looked up at everyone, "so I need everyone to work together, alright?" she asked seriously.**

 **Everyone nodded, "hai!" they coursed. The young Senju turned to her Boyfriend, "Madara-Kun, we need to stick close together, if we get separated we'll never be able to end this" she told him. The Uchiha nodded, "I understand Bethany-Chan, even if that wasn't the case I would still stay with you- I'm not losing you again!" he said with conviction. Bethany smiled with a slightly sad look, "I understand, and I hope you know that I never wanted to put you through that" she said softly. The woman closed her eyes and focused, pulling Nature Chakra into her body so she could enter Sage Mode. It was definitely a lot easier than it normally was, she noted. After pulling at least two days worth in and firmly mixing it with her own Chakra, she then activated her Chakra Shroud**. **Black "pants" and a "shirt" appeared, with golden Magatama around the collar, a long golden "cloak" that reached her ankles and golden sandals. Floating around her were nine black balls- or Truth-Seeking Balls, while her hair floated in the air around her head and her skin stayed its normal colour. Everyone stared at her with wide eyes, gaping at her new appearance. When she opened her eyes, they were the same yellow from before, but now they seemed to glow a little brighter to match the rest of her Chakra shroud.**

 **They were all awed by it, especially Madara. The power he could feel flowing off of her just seemed to increase her beauty and inner strength in his eyes. With his new Rinnegan, he could see just how massive and bright her Chakra was. It was even brighter on the inside, making Bethany's entire being glow, but somehow not being harmful to his eyes. She truly was incredible. Suddenly, they heard a voice, though Bethany had looked up a split second before they did: "so, it's you again,". Upon looking up they saw Kaguya floating above them with the Byakugan in her eyes activated. They all narrowed their eyes at the Goddess. Suddenly she was in front of them and took Bethany and Madara's faces in her hands. The two felt themselves freeze, but not from fear. No, it was Kaguya. She'd touched pressure points on their necks just behind their chin bone, paralysing both of them.**

 **The two struggled against their paralysis, being unable to move an inch. Her Byakugan looked them over with cold scrutiny, "Indra, Asura, I thought that was you, you have received power from my son it would seem," she said. Bethany's eyes widened slightly. Of course she would know they were her grandson's Transmigrants, she knew Naruto and Sasuke were after all. She struggled even harder, desperately trying to move any part of her body aside from her eyes. Shifting her gaze over to Madara, she could tell that he was also trying to move some part, any part of his body, his miss-matched eyes glaring daggers at the woman. Suddenly Madara's Eternal Mangekyo glowed, and black flames burst to life on Kaguya's body, shocking her momentarily and forcing her to drop the two Shinobi. Immediately they were able to move once again, and they jumped back, putting some distance between themselves and their enemy. Hashirama and Minato ran up "are you two alright?" the blond asked worriedly, however, he didn't take his eyes off the Otsutsuki woman. Madara nodded and they all watched as Kaguya began to absorb the Chakra powering the Heavenly flames. "Ideas, anyone?" he asked in a whisper.**

 **Before anyone could answer, a huge black hole appeared below them and the group fell down into it. The last thing they saw was Kaguya sneering at them.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **Bethany, Hashirama, Minato and Madara fell screaming through the portal. The dimension they fell into caused them to scream even louder. It was a lava dimension. Reacting quickly, Bethany turned one of her Truth-Seeking Balls into a platform for everyone to land on, while she activated her flight ability. Everyone let out a breath of relief at the narrow escape they'd had. Hashirama looked up at Bethany, "good job Bethany-Chan, thanks!" he called. Suddenly the Rabbit Goddess appeared in the new dimension as well. "Che," she scoffed, "couldn't you at least have the decency to die and get out of my way?" she asked condescendingly. Bethany glared hard at the woman. "Well, no matter, once I get rid of you, no one will stand in the way of my being your worlds savior" she announced.**

 ** _'_** ** _Let's see, my Mokuton won't work in this dimension as it would just catch on fire from the heat, and any Suiton jutsu I tried to use would just evaporate-'_** **Bethany thought to herself,** ** _'guess I have to go with Earth style jutsu, Rasengan, Flying Thunder God and Sage-Mode enhanced jutsu, while Madara can use any jutsu he's copied, his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and Rinnegan- *sigh* why do I have such a small repertoire of jutsu? I really need more than the ones I have now'_** **. The woman turned to her Boyfriend, "Madara, I don't have many jutsu that would be effective here, so you're up!" she called. The Uchiha nodded, "right!" His Rinnegan and Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan glowed as he spoke. Suddenly white ethereal bones formed around him, appearing in the form of the top half of the human body in a gigantic form which was quickly covered by Chakra muscles, skin then armour as it progressed to its final stage. The Chakra construct grew legs and wings. The giant white Susanoo glared down at the Rabbit Goddess, with Madara and Bethany floating in a giant gem on its forehead and the two Hokage who were with them in its chest area respectively.**

 **The Rabbit Goddess glared at the group of Shinobi; did they really think they could win against her? Pathetic fools, all of them. Bethany's Chakra shroud enlarged, encompassing the God of Storms in a giant version of her Six Paths Chakra Cloak, while the nine Truth-Seeking Balls floated up and around the giant Chakra construct. With the pure white of Madara's Susanoo, and the glowing golden Chakra of Bethany Six Paths Sage Mode, the 'God Of Storms' really did look like a god. Even Hashirama and Minato were staring around themselves with awe. They had never seen anything like this before. It was amazing, awesome and felt powerful beyond belief. Was this what the two were truly capable of? The Rabbit Goddess began gathering massive amounts of Chakra into her palms. Bethany, sensing just how much energy Kaguya was focusing, gasped, "watch out! She's gathering a huge amount of Chakra into her hands!" the woman called. "Eighty Gods Vacuum Fists!" Kaguya shouted, punching out towards them. Madara focused his own Chakra and held out his hands, "Shinra Tensei!" he called. The wave of gravity exploded through the Susanoo and collided with the Rabbit Goddesses Jutsu.**

 **The two attacks met in a huge explosion. For a moment it seemed as though the Uchiha's attack had won, however, in the next second, more fists shot through the smoke. "Damn it!" Madara growled, "even I don't have enough Chakra to block all of those!" he cried, angered at his own weakness, when it was so crucial. Bethany turned to the young man, "what if I gave you my Chakra, could you use Shinra Tensei again?" she asked. Madara nodded quickly, "hurry!" Minato exclaimed as the Rabbit Goddesses attack came closer to them. Bethany placed her hand on her boyfriends shoulder, focusing her Chakra into his body and altering it so that Madara could use it. With Bethany's Chakra flowing into him, Madara once again raised his arms, "Shinra Tensei!" he cried, even louder. This time, the Rinnegan Jutsu completely overpowered Kaguya's. The Otsutsuki woman felt her eyes widen for the first time, "what!" she exclaimed, just as the attack hit her dead on. The Goddess fell through the air, and the White and gold Susanoo dived after her, closing in rapidly. Before she could hit the lava, another black portal opened underneath the Rabbit Goddess and she fell through it. Before it could close, the group of Shinobi flew through after her.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **When they came out the other side of the portal, Bethany, Madara, Hashirama and Minato found themselves above a giant ocean. The group looked around, "where are we now?" the Yondamine asked with wide eyes. "Well Kaguya can open portals to other dimensions, and places as you've seen, so this is either the middle of an ocean, or an ocean dimension" Bethany explained. Kaguya glared hard at them, "I will destroy you and save your world!" she exclaimed. Madara seethed, "how, by forcing everyone into a fake world then turning them into your own little puppets to do whatever the hell it is you want!?" he yelled. Everyone was shocked with the young man's rage, the Uchiha so rarely showed such pure anger that it was hard to believe this was the same man they knew.**

 **Madara clenched his fists, "I will never let that happen- I will** ** _never_** **accept** ** _fake_** **versions of everyone I love," here he paused and looked over at Bethany, "never" he said resolutely. Bethany nodded, determination in her heart, "neither will I, and my Sensei's won't let that happen either- Kaguya, our world doesn't need you, and you can't be allowed to roam free- your mindset and ideals are corrupted, and if we didn't stop you, you'd only cause more destruction and death, weather you intended to or not,** ** _we will_** **stop you, that is a promise!" she said, eyes staring directly at the Rabbit Goddess. Kaguya sneered, "what makes you think** ** _you_** **can stop me? You're nowhere near the level of my two sons, or grandsons- you will lose here today, and I will remain free!" she exclaimed. Suddenly, the air around them began to heat up, and water from the ocean floated into the air. Hashirama stared around himself with wide eyes, "incredible, to have this much affect on nature without using hand signs- no wonder she's called a Goddess!" he said in shock. The water floated up from the sea and swirled around the Otsutsuki.**

 **Dark clouds began to gather in the sky, and lightning flashed through the air, "Ranton:" Kaguya began and the water and pure lighting fused together, "Great Tempest Destruction!" the huge combination attack shot towards them at blinding speeds. Bethany brought one of her Truth-Seeking Balls forwards, and formed it into a gigantic sphere-like shield, wrapping around them entirely. The Storm style jutsu hit the sphere with enough force and power to obliterate just about anything it touched. The entire ball of malleable Yin/Yang Chakra shook, but held firm. Once the attack had died down, the Truth-Seeking Ball returned to its sphere shape and floated back to it's place behind Bethany. Kaguya scowled, these humans were certainly tenacious. Suddenly, another portal engulfed them and before they could blink the group was back in the lava world.**

 **Bethany and Madara glanced at each other. It was time to end this. Both of them then combined their Chakra into one giant sword that the White and Gold adorned God of Storms grabbed hold of. The sword itself was made up of white and golden Chakra. Madara flared his own Chakra and the blade of the sword lit up with the black flames of Amaterasu.**

 **Bethany shared a look with her two present Sensei, and both of them nodded back. The two men jumped out of the Susanoo, as Madara had let them out and began firing off jutsu at Kaguya, distracting her momentarily. The Goddess growled in rage and turned away from Madara and Bethany, who made sure to send out a Truth-Seeking Ball as a platform to catch the two men. The air-born Chakra construct flew at the Otsutsuki, readying its sword: "Kaminoikari No Ken! (Sword Of Divine Wrath)" both Bethany and Madara cried together, as they slashed Kaguya cleanly through the middle. The woman screamed in rage and pain, turning to destroy the two completely. As she shot her All-Killing Ash Bones at them , both of them had released their combination jutsu and managed to dodge the deadly technique, or in Madara's case block it with a partial Susanoo, specifically it's rib-cage. Then both Bethany and Madara reached out and, with a little maneuvering in the air, Bethany with her ability to fly, and Madara being supported by a Truth-Seeking ball in the shape of a platform, both young Shinobi grabbed hold of her with their hands that held Hagoromo's sealing marks.**

 **The Rabbit Goddess tried to get out of the way, but they were too close to her body and before she could open a portal, the Senju and Uchiha had caught her. Kaguya screamed in absolute furry as she felt her eldest son's sealing jutsu begin to imprison her once again. Everyone watched with complete awe at the massive chunks of earth, and even cooling lava floating up into the sky, imprisoning Kaguya for what was hoped to be the final time. Slowly the massive moon began to form, floating into the sky as it grew bigger with each passing moment. After what seemed like an eternity, the giant moon was completed and the group exhaled a simultaneous sigh of relief. Bethany clapped her hands together, forming a single hand sign: "Suiton: Water Shockwave!" she cried, and a giant torrent of water coalesced in the air above her, shooting downwards and evaporating in an enormous cloud of steam when it hit the lava. When it had cleared, it showed one large patch of cooled magma, creating a safe place for them to stand. The group floated down safely onto the rock and Bethany released her Six Paths Sage Mode.**

 **She sighed, "well- that was fun, no?" she asked jokingly. Everyone just stared at the young woman with a blank look on their faces "no" they coursed in a deadpan voice, even ever joyful Hashirama. Bethany became depressed at that, "none of you are any fun! I try to make a joke to lighten the mood and no-one laughs" she mumbled with a cloud of depression hanging over her head. Madara looked troubled, "Bethany-Chan-" he said softly. Suddenly the depression was gone as though it never existed, and she grinned as brightly as the sun itself, "we did it everyone" she said happily. "Hm, well, almost" Minato replied in an unusually subdued voice. The Young Senju tilted her head slightly to the side, "what do you mean?" she asked curiously.**

 **The Yondamine raised an eyebrow, "Bethany- did you seriously forget about the Infinite Tsukuyomi?" he deadpanned. Everything was perfectly silent for a whole minute, before- "gah! How the hell did I forget that!?" Bethany exclaimed with wide eyes. She began panicking, running around like a chicken with no head, "ah! What do we do!? How do we get out of here!?" she yelled. Hashirama and Minato sweat-dropped at their student, while Madara was trying fruitlessly to calm her down. "Bethany-Chan, it's okay, c-calm down, Bethany-" he said, trying to get a word in, but his girlfriend was unable to hear him above her own screaming. Finally the black-haired man lost his patience, "Bethany-Chan! Calm down already! I know you're worried, but running around like a chicken with its head cut off won't help any of us get back to the real world, okay?" he asked, calming down after he yelled her name.**

 **The Senju woman stopped and stood stock-still for a moment, before slumping in defeat, "ah, you're right, so what do we do then?" she asked, turning to the Uchiha. Madara was about to reply when there was a bright flash of light that forced them to close their eyes. When the light had cleared, they had vanished from the lava dimension.**


	33. Chapter 33

**When the light faded, Bethany slowly opened her eyes. And found herself staring at a pair of Rinnegan. She jumped back and screamed, only to blink a second later when she realised that it was only Hagoromo. She scolded herself for being so shocked and bowed to the Sage, "forgive me Sennin-Sama, you- surprised me" she told him, blushing at her stupid mistake. Thankfully, the god-like man didn't seem perturbed by it and waved his hand dismissively, "it's quite alright Bethany-Chan, I mostly expected that response as your summoning here was quite sudden and you had just gotten out of a battle situation" he replied, then smiled slightly, "well done, all of you- you stopped my mother and now you can end the infinite Tsukuyomi together" he replied with a proud look in his eyes.**

 **For some reason that look just made her heart scream with joy. Maybe it was Asura's Chakra reacting to gaining his father's praise again after so long, but whatever it was, she was glad to have it. Bethany grinned and punched her fist into her hand, "well then, let's end this nightmare once and for all! shall we Madara-Kun?" she asked, extending her hand with the seal marking, ready to lace it into the release hand sign with her Boyfriend.** ** _"_** ** _Oh no you don't!"_** **A dark and familiar voice called and Bethany froze as a piercingly cold feeling crept over her, especially her left side. Everyone looked shocked and horrified, but Madara looked absolutely** ** _murderous._** **The young Hokage forced her right eye to look over at her left side to see exactly what she had thought. Black Zetsu had completely covered the left side of her body and now had complete control of it. She grit her teeth against the chillingly cold feeling washing over her, not enough to make her feel numb, but enough so that it burnt like what she imagined frost-bite would feel like.**

 _ **"**_ ** _He, he, he, he, all of you get back, especially you old man,"_** **he forced her left eye to move over to the Sage,** ** _"_** ** _if I feel even one_** ** _hint_** ** _of Chakra from any of you-"_** **he trailed off, as he made the girls hand reach into her weapons pouch and pull out a kunai, holding it up near her throat. Everyone gasped and tensed, while Bethany herself struggled to fight back against this** ** _parasite_** **that had latched itself onto her body. Madara glared acidly at Black Zetsu, as he unwillingly took a step back along with everyone else. "Damn you, how** ** _dare_** **you threaten her after everything you already did!" the Uchiha hissed, pure hatred dripping from every word. How he ached to rip that bastard to pieces, but he could do nothing. The Senju shook as she struggled to control her own body, but the manifestation of will was too strong.** ** _"_** ** _Don't bother trying to fight me little girl, you aren't strong enough, and besides-"_** **he paused again and grinned maliciously over at Madara,** ** _"_** ** _that boy almost lost himself to the Curse Of Hatred once before- I doubt you would want him to suffer through your death again, what with how much you love him"_** **he taunted.**

 **Bethany desperately tried to gain control of herself, but she couldn't move.** ** _'Wait,'_** **she thought,** ** _'I can't move, so maybe that means-'_** **she focused, drawing in natural energy from the world around her. Suddenly Black Zetsu started screaming:** ** _"_** ** _you bitch! Stop! Stop it now!"_** **he screamed at her. Bethany ignored him, now knowing that she had been right, Black Zetsu shared his 'mothers' weakness to Nature Chakra. She drew in even more, while the parasite shrieked, but refused to let go.** ** _'Fine,'_** **she thought,** ** _'let's see how you like this?'_** **Bethany focused harder and she suddenly burst into golden light, as her Six Paths Sage Mode activated. Black Zetsu screamed out in agony, practically launching itself away from her body. He tried to run away, but suddenly a black rod was stabbed through it and he couldn't move. He turned to look behind him, and saw, to his horror, Hagoromo stabbing him, his Rinnegan practically** ** _burning_** **with his rage.**

 **"** **This is it for you" he said darkly, channelling massive amounts of Nature Chakra through the rod into Black Zetsu's body. The construct screamed one last time before he vanished into nothingness. Bethany collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, while Madara grabbed her and held her up, "finally, that bastard is gone for good" she sighed in relief. Bethany then looked back up at her boyfriend, and smiled, "well, shall we end this once and for all?" she asked. The Uchiha nodded, and then hugged the woman, "don't scare me like that again, okay?" he asked, the tone of his voice conveying absolute seriousness. The Senju nodded into his thick but soft mane of black hair, "I promise I won't" she replied, serious as well. Then she pulled away and grinned brightly, "let's end this nightmare for good" she said. Madara nodded and the two stood side-by-side once again. They then formed the Rat hand sign together. The two looked at each other, "ready?" Madara asked. Bethany nodded, and they both looked forwards, "Infinite Tsukuyomi, release!" they cried together, channelling and combining their Chakra through the hand sign.**

 **A huge blast of Chakra was expelled from their bodies, and the Shinju tree began to wither away. The tethers broke and the cocoons fell to the ground. The cocoons themselves then broke apart, while the people began to wake up from their dreams. Bethany threw her arms up into the air, "we did it!" she cried in joy. Hashirama looked up suddenly, "ah, Tobi!" he cried, leaping away in the direction of his younger brother's familiar Chakra signature. Bethany smiled "well done you two" Hagoromo spoke up from behind them. The Senju and Uchiha turned to face the God of Shinobi. Bethany smiled even wider and bowed deeply in gratitude, "thank you, Sennin-Sama, we will forever be in your debt" she said happily. Hagoromo smiled back, "you are very welcome, I was more than happy to help" he replied.**

 **The Sage frowned then, "I know it may seem sudden, but now that I'm here, I should send the three of them back home" he said sadly. Bethany's eyes widened, "what? So soon?" she asked in shock. Madara looked at his girlfriend with sad eyes- he knew just how close she was to her three teachers. "Bethany-Chan?" the girl turned and saw Hashirama, Tobirama and Minato standing behind them. The Shodai gave her a sad look, "I'm sorry, but-" he started, but she held up a hand to stop him, "I know what you're going to say, you have to go home, it was what you always intended to do-" Bethany paused and choked back a sob, prompting Madara to walk up and wrap his arms around her, "I know you have to go, the three of you have your own lives to live, world to return to and village to protect, like I do-" she sniffed, "as a village leader myself, I understand, I just wish I could be sure that I'd see you again one day" the woman broke into sobs.**

 **Hashirama walked up and placed his hand on the girls shoulder, "it'll be okay, you'll be fine Bethany, you're stronger than you think, and we all believe in you," he paused, smiling proudly, "I'm more than proud of you and I know that you'll make us even prouder" Bethany felt more tears fall down her cheeks, but this time they were tears of joy, "Hashirama-Sensei" she whispered, clinging to the man like a lifeline, "thank you for everything you've done for me- for us," she turned her gaze to Tobirama and Minato, "you as well, though I know we weren't as close as I was to Hashirama-Sensei," she hugged both in turn, "thank you both as well, Tobirama-Sensei, Minato-Sensei," Bethany then pulled away, "I'll miss all of you" she said, continuously wiping at her eyes. Minato nodded, "I'll never forget you" he said softly. The young woman nodded, trying to keep from bursting into tears again. "Well, it's time to go, I hope we will all be able to see each other again sometime" Hagoromo said, forming a single hand sign.**

 **With a single bright flash of light, the four of them vanished from the real world.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **When Hashirama and Tobirama opened their eyes again, they found themselves standing in the First's office. They looked around for a moment, even going to the window and looked out of it to find the Hokage monument of their village, with Hashirama's face carved into it. Hashirama sighed slightly, "well, we're home Tobi" he said morosely. Tobirama said nothing, but both brothers knew that it would be hard now that Bethany was no longer a part of their lives.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **(Minato's POV)**

 **When the blond opened his eyes, he found himself staring at a pair of violet ones. He flinched back in shock, before blinking, "Kushina?" he asked, staring at his wife with wide eyes. It had been so long since he'd seen the woman he loved, but she looked exactly the same as the last time he'd seen her- just as beautiful as ever. "What's wrong Minato?" she asked in concern. Minato shook his head slightly, and scooped his Red-Hot Habanero up into his arms, "oh Kushina, I have a lot to tell you" he said, holding the Uzumaki close.**

 ** _ŚŅŸ_**

 **** **(Back in the real world with Bethany)**

 **The woman stood and stared at the place where her three teachers disappeared from, the three teachers who'd become like siblings to her over the last five years. Madara still had his arms wrapped around her form, "Bethany-Chan?" he whispered to her. The woman gently moved away from her boyfriend and walked forwards aimlessly. They were gone. The three people who had been the most influential in her recent life were gone and she didn't know if she would ever see any of them again. Bethany closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She knew why they'd had to go, she understood very clearly, but it still hurt. Maybe not as much since she still had Madara-Kun with her and everyone from her village, but still- it hurt.**

 **Bethany opened her eyes and slowly looked up at the clear blue sky. She clenched her fists, suddenly feeling her well of determination deepen,** ** _'don't worry, I'll be fine- I have Madara-Kun and everyone from the village, and now many others,'_** **she smiled,** ** _'after all, it was the experiences in my life that have made me this strong- my life with three Hokage'_** **.**

 **The End**


End file.
